UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

J.D.   Easter 


SERMQ 


BT    THE 


SAN 

ANSELMO 
MARIN  ' 


REV.  SAMUEL  DAVIES,  A.M., 


PRESIDENT  OF  TIIE  COLLEGE  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 


WITH   A 

FUNERAL  SERMON  BY  THE  REV.  SAMUEL  FINLEY,  D.  D, 

HIS    SUCCESSOR    IN    THAT    OFFICE, 
AND  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF    PRESIDENT   DAVIES,  BY    THE    REV.  THOMAS 

GIBBONS,  D.  D.,  OF  LONDON,  AND  THE  REV.  DAVID 
BOSTWICK,  M.  A.,  ov  NEW  YOEK. 


CONTAINING    ALSO 


AN  INTRODUCTORY  MEMOIR  OF  PRESIDENT  DAVIES, 

BY   THE 

REV.  WILLIAM  B.  SPRAGUE,  D.D. 


IN     THREE     VOLUMES. 
VOL.    I. 


IS 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION, 

No.  821  CHESTNUT  STKEET. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1864,  by 

THE  TRUSTEES   OF  THE 
PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD   OF   PUBLICATION, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  in  and 
for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 

STEREOTYPED  BT  WILLIAM  W.  HARDING,  PHILADELPHIA. 


> 


yj 


OF 

VOLUME  I. 


I.  Preface  to  the  first  London  Edition 9 

II.  Memoir  of  President  Davies  by  the  Eev.  "William  B.  Sprague,  D.D.     11 

<^        III.  A  Sermon  preached  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  on  occasion  of  the  death 
of  President  Davies,  by  the  Eev.  Samuel  Finley,  D.D.,  after- 
*•  wards  his  successor  as  President  of  the  College.        ,:       ,        .     31 

%j         IV.  An  Appendix  to  President  Finley's  Sermon,  by  another  hand.      .     49 

V.  A  portion  of  two  discourses  preached  in  London  on  the  same  occa- 
sion by  the  Eev.  Thomas  Gibbons,  D.D 55 

VI.  The  Character  of  Prest.  Davies,  by  the  Eev.  David  Bostwick,  A.M., 

of  New  York,    .,•;.•.      ....        •;•—.»..    •        •    65 

V.  SEEMON  I. 

THE  DIVINE  AUTHORITY   AND  SUFFICIENCY  OF   THE    CHRISTIAN  RE- 
"^j  LIGION. 

LUKE  xvi.  27-31. — Then  he  said,  I  pray  thee,  therefore,  father,  that  thou 
wouldest  send  him  to  my  father's  house :  for  I  have  five  brethren ;  that 
he  may  testify  unto  them,  lest  they  also  come  into  this  place  of  torment. 
Abraham  saith  unto  him,  They  have  Moses  and  the  prophets;  let  them 
hear  them.  And  he  said,  Nay,  father  Abraham :  but  if  one  went  unto 
them  from  the  dead,  they  will  repent.  And  he  said  unto  him,  If  they 
hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will  they  be  persuaded  though 
one  rose  from  the  dead 71 

SEEMON  II. 

THE   NATURE  OF   SALVATION  THROUGH  JESUS   CHRIST   EXPLAINED  AND 
RECOMMENDED. 

JOHN  in.  16. — For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him,  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlast- 
ing life 109 

3 


V 


4  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  III. 

SINNERS   ENTREATED   TO  BE   RECONCILED   TO    GOD. 

2  COR.  v.  20. — Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God  did 
beseech  you  by  us :  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to 
God.  137 


SERMON  IV. 

THE   NATURE  AND  UNIVERSALITY   OP  SPIRITUAL   DEATH. 

EPHES.  ii.  1  and  5. — Who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins. — Even  when 
we  were  dead  in  sins, » 162 


SERMON  V. 

THE  NATURE   AND  PROCESS  OF  SPIRITUAL   LIFE. 

EPHES.  ii.  4,  6. — But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  his  great  love  where- 
with he  loved  us,  even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath  quickened  us  to- 
gether with  Christ 189 


SERMON  VI. 

POOR  AND  CONTRITE   SPIRITS  THE   OBJECTS  OF  THE  DIVINE   FAVOUR. 

ISAIAH  LXVI.  2, — To  this  man  will  I  look,  even  to  him  that  is  poor,  and  of 
a  contrite  spirit,  and  trembleth  at  my  word.          ....        211 

SERMON  VII. 

THE  NATURE  AND  DANGER  OF  MAKING  LIGHT   OF   CHRIST  AND   SAL- 
VATION. 

MATT.  xxn.  5. — But  they  made  light  of  it 230 

SERMON  VIII. 

THE  COMPASSION  OF   CHRIST  TO  WEAK   BELIEVERS. 

MATT.  xn.  20. — A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,  and  smoking  flax  shall 
he  not  quench 248 

SERMON   IX. 

THE   CONNECTION   BETWEEN  PRESENT   HOLINESS  AND  FUTURE   FELICITY. 

HEB.  xn.  14. — Follow   Holiness,   without  which  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord.  268 


CONTENTS.  5 

SERMON  X. 

THE   MEDIATORIAL  KINGDOM   AND   GLORIES   OP   JESUS   CHKI8T. 

JOHN  xvni.  37. — Pilate  therefore  said  unto  him,  Art  thou  a  king  then  ? 
Jesus  answered,  Thou  sayest  that  I  am  a  king.  To  this  end  was  I  born, 
and  for  this  cause  came  I  into  the  world  that  I  should  bear  witness  unto 
the  truth.  285 


SERMON   XI. 

THINGS  UNSEEN  TO  BE  PREFERRED  TO  THINGS  SEEN. 

2  COR.  IT.  18. — While  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the 
things  which  are  not  seen :  for  the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal ; 
but  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal 318 

SERMON  XII. 

THE  SACRED  IMPORT   OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  NAME. 

ACTS  xi.  26. — The  disciples  were  called  Christians  first  in  Antioch.    .    335 
SERMON  XIII. 

THE   DIVINE   MERCY   TO   MOURNING   PENITENTS. 

JER.  xxxi.  18,  19,  20. — I  have  surely  heard  Ephraim  bemoaning  himself 
thus :  Thou  hast  chastised  me,  and  I  was  chastised,  as  a  bullock  unaccus- 
tomed to  the  yoke :  turn  thou  me,  and  I  shall  be  turned ;  for  thou  art  the 
Lord  my  God.  Surely  after  that  I  was  turned,  I  repented ;  and  after  that 
I  was  instructed,  I  smote  upon  my  thigh :  I  was  ashamed,  yea,  even  con- 
founded, because  I  did  bear  the  reproach  of  my  youth.  Is  Ephraim  my 
dear  son?  is  he  a  pleasant  child?  for  since  I  spake  against  him,  I  do 
earnestly  remember  him  still :  therefore  my  bowels  are  troubled  for  him ; 
I  will  surely  have  mercy  upon  him,  saith  the  Lord.  .  .  .  354 

SERMON  XIV. 

CHRIST  PRECIOUS   TO   ALL   TRUE   BELIEVERS. 

1  PET.  II.  7. — Unto  you  therefore  which  believe,  he  is  precious.        .      379 
SERMON  XV. 

THE  DANGER  OF  LUKEWARMNE8S  IN   RELIGION. 

REV.  in.  15,  16. — I  know  thy  works,  that  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot:  I 
I  would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot.  So,  then,  because  thou  art  lukewarm,  and 
neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  spew  thee  out  of  my  mouth.  .  .  404 


6  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  XVI. 

THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT  THE  JOT   OF  OUR  WOULD. 

PSALM  xcvii.  1. — The  Lord  reigneth;  let  the  earth  rejoice;  let  the  multi- 
tude of  isles  be  glad  thereof.  «  .  ".'  '"  .  .  .  .  423 

SERMON  XVII. 

THE  NAME  OF  GOD  PROCLAIMED  BY  HIMSELF. 

EXODUS  xxxiii.  18,  19. — And  he  said,  I  beseech  thee,  show  me  thy  glory. 
And  he  said,  I  will  make  all  my  goodness  pass  before  thee,  and  I  will 
proclaim  the  name  of  the  LORD  before  thee ; 

WITH   CHAP.  XXXIV.  6,  7. 

And  the  LORD  passed  by  before  him,  and  proclaimed,  The  LORD,  the  LORD 
God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering  and  abundant  in  goodness  and 
truth ;  keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  and  transgres- 
sion, and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty.  .  .  442 


SEKMON  XVIII. 

GOD   IS   LOVE. 

1  JOHN  iv.  8.— God  is  Love 465 

SERMON   XIX. 

THE  GENERAL  RESURRECTION. 

JOHN  v.  28,  29. — The  hour  is  coming  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves 
shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come  forth ;  they  that  have  done  good,  unto 
the  resurrection  of  life ;  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrec- 
tion of  damnation.  .  *"  . 493 

SERMON  XX. 

THE  UNIVERSAL  JUDGMENT. 

ACTS  xvil.  30,  31. — And  the  times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at ;  but 
now  commandeth  all  men  every  where  to  repent :  because  he  hath  ap- 
pointed a  day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by 
that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained  ;  whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto 
all  men,  in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead.  .  .  .  617 


CONTENTS.  7 

SERMON   XXI. 

THE  ONE   THING  NEEDFUL. 

LUKE  x.  41,  42. — And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  her,  Martha,  Martha, 
thou  art  careful  and  troubled  about  many  things ;  but  one  thing  is  need- 
ful ;  and  Mary  hath  chosen  that  good  part,  which  shall  not  be  taken  away 
from  her. 551 

SERMON  XXII. 

SAINTS  SAVED  WITH   DIFFICULTY,  AND  THE   CERTAIN  PERDITION  OF 

SINNERS. 

1  PET.  iv.  18. — And  if  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the  un- 
godly and  the  sinner  appear  ? 577 

SERMON  XXIII. 

INDIFFERENCE  TO   LIFE   URGED   FROM   ITS  SHORTNESS  AND  VANITY. 

1  COR.  vii.  29,  80,  31. — But  this  I  say,  brethren,  the  time  is  short:  it  re- 
maineth,  that  both  they  that  have  wives,  be  as  though  they  had  none ;  and 
they  that  weep,  as  though  they  wept  not;  and  they  that  rejoice,  as  though 
they  rejoiced  not ;  and  they  that  buy,  as  though  they  possessed  not ;  and 
they  that  use  this  world,  as  not  abusing  it;  for  the  fashion  of  this  world 
passeth  away.  .  .  •  .  •  .  .  •  .  .  .  597 

SEKMON  XXIV. 

THE  PREACHING   OF  CHRIST  CRUCIFIED  THE   MEAN   OF   SALVATION. 

1  COR.  i.  22,  23,  24. — For  the  Jews  require  a  sign,  and  the  Greeks  seek  after 
wisdom:  but  we  preach  Christ  crucified,  unto  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block, 
and  unto  the  Greeks  foolishness ;  but  unto  them  which  are  called,  both 
Jews  and  Greeks,  Christ  the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God.      620 

SERMON  XXV. 

INGRATITUDE  TO  GOD  A   HEINOUS   BUT  GENERAL  INIQUITY. 

2  CHRON.  xxxn.  25. — But  Hezekiah  rendered  not  again  according  to  the 
benefit  done  unto  him .  652 


TO  THE 

FIRST  LONDON  EDITION. 


IT  is  with  real  pleasure  I  now  send  into  the  world  a  collection  of 
Sermons,  by  that  eminent  and  amiable  man,  and  my  most  esteemed 
and  beloved  friend,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Davies.  I  hope  I  may  be 
"the  honoured  instrument  of  promoting  the  great  interests  of  vital 
evangelical  godliness,  by  communicating  to  the  public  a  number  of 
Discourses,  which  appear  to  me  admirably  calculated  to  increase  the 
knowledge  and  power  of  real  religion  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men. 

Those  who  knew  and  heard  Mr.  Davies  will  need  no  further  proof 
than  the  perusal  of  the  discourses  themselves,  that  they  are  the  real 
productions  of  the  author  to  whom  they  are  ascribed.  The  sun  shows 
himself  to  be  the  sun  by  the  very  beams  with  which  he  irradiates  and 
enlivens  mankind,  and  is  easily  distinguished  from  other  luminaries  by 
his  surpassing  lustre.  *  * 

I  most  sincerely  wish  that  young  ministers  more  especially  would 
peruse  these  volumes  with  the  deepest  attention  and  seriousness,  and 
endeavour,  in  conjunction  with  earnest  prayer  for  divine  illumination 
and  assistance,  to  form  their  discourses  according  to  the  model  of  our 
author;  in  which,  if  I  mistake  not,  are  the  following  excellences, 
most  worthy  of  imitation : 

A  calm  and  elaborate  inquiry  into  the  connection  of  those  passages 
of  Scripture  which  he  chooses  for  his  subjects,  and  a  close  investiga- 
tion, when  it  appeared  necessary,  into  the  meaning  of  his  text  by  re- 
searches into  the  original  language,  and  fair  and  learned  criticism ;  a 
careful  attention  to  the  portions  of  sacred  writ  upon  which  he  proposes 
to  treat,  so  that  his  discourse  as  naturally  arises  from  his  theme  as  the 
branch  grows  from  the  root,  or  the  stream  issues  from  the  fountain. 
In  every  page,  and  almost  every  line  of  Mr.  Davies'  sermons,  his 
VOL.  I.— 2  9 


10  PREFACE. 

readers  may  discover  the  subject  he  at  first  professed  to  handle  ;  and 
he  is  ever  illustrating,  proving,  or  enforcing  some  truth  or  another 
evidently  contained  in  it ;  a  reigning  regard  to  the  divine  word  by 
comparing  and  confirming  Scripture  by  Scripture,  by  taking  the  sacred 
text  in  its  easy  and  natural  sense,  and  by  apt  and  pertinent  citations 
of  passages  from  holy  writ,  both  in  the  proof  and  amplification ;  at 
the  same  time  that  our  author  by  no  means  omits  a  regard  to  the  dic- 
tates of  natural  conscience  and  reason,  while  he  either  makes  his  ap- 
peal to  them,  or  introduces  passages  from  Pagan  antiquity  on  proper 
occasions,  and  to  answer  some  valuable  purposes ;  an  observance  of 
method  and  order,  so  as  to  proceed,  like  a  wise  builder,  in  laying  the 
foundation,  and  regularly  erecting  the  superstructure,  and  yet  diversi- 
fying his  method  and  order,  by  making  them  at  some  times  open  and 
express,  and  at  other  times  indirect  and  implicit ;  a  free,  manly  dic- 
tion, without  anything  of  a  nice  and  affected  accuracy,  or  a  loud  sound- 
ing torrent  of  almost  unintelligible  words  on  the  one  side,  or  a  loose 
negligence,  or  mean  and  low-creeping  phrases,  unworthy  an  admission 
into  the  pulpit,  on  the  other ;  a  rich  vein  of  evangelical  doctrine  and 
promise,  with  a  large  infusion  at  proper  seasons  of  practical  duty,  or 
awful  denunciation  of  the  divine  wrath  against  impenitent  and  incor- 
rigible sinners ;  an  impartial  regard  to  the  cases  of  all  his  hearers, 
like  a  good  steward  distributing  to  all  their  portion  of  meat  in  due 
season  ;  animated  and  pathetic  application,  in  which  our  author  collects 
and  concentrates  what  he  has  been  proving  in  his  discourses,  and  urges 
it  with  all  the  powers  of  forcible  address  and  melting  persuasion  to  the 
heart. 

Such  appear  to  me  to  be  the  excellences  of  Mr.  Davies'  Sermons. 
May  young  ministers  more  particularly  copy  them  with  divine  success, 
and  be,  like  him,  "  burning  and  shining  lights"  in  their  several  sta- 
tions, till,  having  guided  and  animated  their  respective  charges  in  the 
way  to  heaven,  they  and  their  people  may  at  last  "  shine  forth,  like 
the  sun,  in  the  kingdom  of  their  father." 

Such  are  the  sincere  prayers  of  the  editor, 

THOMAS  GIBBONS. 
Hoxton- Square,  October  21,  1770. 


MEMOIR  OF  PRESIDENT  DAVIES. 

BY  THE  REV.  WILLIAM  B.  SPRAGUE,  D.D. 


SAMUEL  DAVIES  was  born  near  Summit  Ridge,  in  the  county  of 
Newcastle,  Delaware,  on  the  3d  of  November,  1723.  Both  his  parents 
were  of  Welsh  extraction.  His  father  was  a  farmer  of  very  simple 
habits,  of  great  integrity,  and  of  well  accredited  Christian  character. 
His  mother  was  distinguished  not  only  for  fine  intellectual  endow- 
ments, but  for  deep  spirituality  and  intense  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
Christ ;  and  this  son  is  said  to  have  been  given  her  in  answer  to  spe- 
cial prayer,  in  token  of  which  she  named  him  Samuel,  as  she  solemnly 
devoted  him  to  the  Lord.  The  father  died  two  years  before  the  son ; 
the  mother  survived  him  for  a  long  period,  and  was  an  inmate  of  the 
family  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Rodgers,  of  New  York. 

This  child,  thus  dedicated  in  his  infancy  to  the  service  of  Christ  and 
his  Church,  by  parental  faith,  was  early  cared  for,  in  all  his  intellect- 
ual, moral,  and  spiritual  interests,  in  the  best  manner  that  the  circum- 
stances permitted.  As  there  was  no  school  in  the  neighbourhood,  he 
received  the  rudiments  of  his  education  under  the  teaching  of  his 
mother ;  and  though,  during  the  years  of  his  early  boyhood,  he 
evinced  the  usual  vivacity  and  sprightliness  incident  to  that  period,  he 
was,  by  no  means,  unaffected  by  his  mother's  pious  counsels  and 
instructions.  At  the  age  of  ten,  he  was  sent  to  an  English  school,  at 
some  distance  from  home,  where  he  remained  two  years ;  and  during 
this  period  made  rapid  progress  in  his  studies,  though  at  the  expense 
of  losing,  in  a  measure,  the  religious  impressions  which  a  mother's 
watchful  and  devoted  attentions  had  made  upon  him.  He,  however, 
still  continued  the  habit  of  secret  prayer,  and  cherished  the  purpose  of 

11 


12  MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES. 

devoting  himself  to  the  Christian  ministry.  At  the  age  of  twelve,  his 
impressions  were  greatly  revived  and  strengthened,  and  there  is  rea- 
son to  believe  that,  at  this  time,  if  not  before,  he  became  a  subject  of 
renewing  grace.  He  did  not,  however,  make  a  public  profession  of  his 
faith  until  he  had  reached  his  fifteenth  year.  The  subject  of  religion 
now  became  with  him  all-engrossing :  while  he  enjoyed,  in  a  high 
degree,  the  comforts  of  a  good  hope  through  grace,  he  scrutinized  the 
motives  and  principles  of  his  own  conduct  with  the  utmost  care,  and 
met  the  temptations  of  the  world  with  an  heroic  resistance  that  would 
not  have  dishonoured  the  most  advanced  Christian. 

Having  the  ministry  now  distinctly  in  his  eye,  he  prosecuted  his 
studies  with  renewed  vigour,  and  made  rapid  progress  in  every  depart- 
ment of  knowledge  to  which  he  directed  his  attention.  He  com- 
menced his  classical  course  under  the  instruction  of  the  Rev.  Abel 
Morgan,  a  highly  respectable  Welsh  minister,  of  the  Baptist  denomi- 
nation ;  but  when  the  Rev.  Samuel  Blair  opened  his  famous  school  at 
Fagg's  Manor,  Chester  county,  Pa.,  he  was  transferred  to  that  school, 
where  he  remained  till  both  his  classical  and  theological  education  was 
completed.  The  instruction  here  was  most  thorough,  and  the  religious 
atmosphere  most  healthful ;  so  that  while  young  Davies  was  making 
rapid  improvement  in  the  various  branches  of  human  learning,  as  well 
as  becoming  a  proficient  in  speculative  theology,  he  was  also  steadily 
growing  in  grace,  and  rising  into  a  nearer  conformity  to  that  Master  to 
whom  he  had  devoted  himself.  So  intense  was  his  application  to 
study  that,  by  the  time  his  course  in  the  institution  was  completed,  his 
health,  which  was  at  best  frail,  had  become  quite  seriously  impaired. 
Having  sustained  his  several  preparatory  trials  in  a  most  creditable 
manner,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel,  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Newcastle,  on  the  30th  of  July,  1746.  On  the  23d  of  October  follow- 
ing, he  was  married  to  Sarah  Kirkpatrick. 

On  the  19th  of  February,  1747,  he  was  ordained  as  an  Evangelist, 
with  a  view  to  his  visiting  certain  congregations  in  Hanover  county, 
Va.,  whence  he  had  received  aid  in  his  preparatory  studies.  His  mis- 
sion into  that  region  was  regarded  as  one  of  great  delicacy  and  diffi- 
culty, especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  civil  suits  had  already  been 
instituted,  and  were  then  pending,  against  several  clergymen,  for  hold- 
ing religious  worship  in  a  manner  not  sanctioned  by  the  laws  of  the 
Province  ;  a  matter  in  relation  to  which  the  public  mind  was  then 


MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES.  13 

deeply  agitated.  Mr.  Davies  hesitated,  partly  on  account  of  his  inex- 
perience in  the  ministry,  and  his  want  of  familiarity  with  ecclesiastical 
rules  and  usages,  and  partly  on  account  of  his  feeble  health,  to  under- 
take the  mission ;  but  the  remarkable  powers  he  had  developed,  in 
connection  with  the  very  decidedly  favourable  impression  which  his 
preaching  had  made  while  he  was  a  probationer,  seemed  to  point  him 
out  as  better  fitted  than  any  one  else  to  occupy  that  difficult  field. 

In  due  time,  Mr.  Davies  set  out  for  Virginia,  and,  before  going  to 
his  appointed  field  of  labour,  repaired  to  Williamsburg,  to  obtain  from 
the  General  Court  a  license  to  officiate  at  four  meeting-houses  in  and 
about  Hanover.  The  Governor  favoured  the  application,  and,  through 
his  influence,  the  following  license  was  obtained  from  the  General 
Court,  dated  April  14, 1767  :— 

"  On  the  petition  of  Samuel  Davies,  a  Dissenting  minister,  who, 
this  day,  in  Court,  took  the  usual  oaths  to  His  Majesty's  person  and 
government,  and  subscribed  the  Test,  and  likewise  publicly  declared 
his  assent  thereunto,  he  is  allowed  to  assemble  and  meet  any  congrega- 
tions of  Dissenters  at  the  several  meeting-houses  on  the  lands  of 
Samuel  Morris,  David  Rice,  and  Stephen  Leacy,  in  Hanover  County, 
and  on  the  lands  of  Thomas  Watkins,  in  Henrico  County,  without 
molestation,  they  behaving  in  a  peaceable  manner,  and  conforming 
themselves  according  to  the  directions  of  the  Acts  of  Parliament  in 
that  behalf  made." 

While  the  trials  of  those  who  had  been  prosecuted  for  worshipping 
God  contrary  to  law  were  still  in  progress,  Mr.  Davies  proceeded  to 
Hanover  with  his  license  in  his  pocket;  and  when  the  people  knew 
under  what  circumstances  he  had  come  to  them,  they  were  ready  to 
welcome  him  as  an  angel  of  mercy.  His  preaching  was  listened  to  on 
every  side  with  profound  attention  and  admiration  ;  combining,  as  it 
did,  the  highest  graces  of  rhetoric  and  elocution  with  the  most  lumi- 
nous, simple,  and  forcible  exhibition  of  divine  truth.  He  laboured  in 
Hanover  and  several  adjacent  counties  not  far  from  four  months  ;  and 
wherever  he  preached,  a  desire  was  expressed  that  his  labours  might 
be  permanently  secured.  When  the  allotted  time  for  his  mission  had 
expired,  he  returned  to  his  friends  at  the  North,  but  not  till  he  had 
received  the  most  importunate  requests  to  come  back  and  make  Vir- 
ginia his  home.  Indeed,  he  had  no  sooner  taken  his  leave  of  them, 
than  they  made  out  a  regular  call  for  him,  and  sent  it  to  the  Presbytery. 


14  MEMOIR    OF   PRESIDENT    DAVIES. 

Scarcely  had  he  returned  to  Delaware,  when  he  met  with  a  sore  af- 
fliction in  the  sudden  death  of  his  wife.  The  shock  materially  affected 
his  health ;  his  hectic  tendencies,  which  had  before  developed  them- 
selves to  some  extent,  now  became  more  decided ;  and  he  was  fully 
impressed  with  the  conviction  that  the  time  of  his  departure  was  at 
hand.  But  this  only  seemed  to  quicken  his  zeal  to  labour  to  the 
utmost  while  the  day  should  last ;  and  hence,  after  preaching  in  the 
day-time,  he  would  sometimes  at  night  find  himself  with  a  burning 
fever  which  would  bring  on  delirium,  requiring  one  or  more  persons  to 
sit  up  with  him.  Being  unable  to  take  charge  of  a  congregation  while 
in  this  feeble  state,  he  travelled,  as  he  was  able,  from  one  vacancy  to 
another,  preaching  to  the  extent  of  his  ability,  and  rendering  himself 
everywhere  an  object  of  the  highest  interest.  In  the  spring  of  1748, 
there  was  considerable  alleviation  of  his  malady,  though  he  himself 
regarded  it  as  only  temporary,  and  fully  expected  that  the  disease 
would  have  a  fatal  termination.  Many  earnest  applications  were  made 
for  his  pastoral  services ;  and  the  call  from  Virginia  was  renewed, 
signed  by  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  heads  of  families,  and  urged 
with  great  importunity  by  the  person  who  was  appointed  to  present  it. 
Of  his  own  feelings  in  view  of  this  call,  he  has  left  the  following 
record  : — "  Upon  the  arrival  of  a  messenger  from  Hanover,  I  put  my 
life  in  my  hand,  and  determined  to  accept  their  call,  hoping  I  might 
live  to  prepare  the  way  for  some  more  useful  successor,  and  willing  to 
expire  under  the  fatigues  of  duty,  rather  than  in  voluntary  negli- 
gence." No  man  could  have  been  better  fitted  than  he  to  occupy  the 
field  to  which  he  was  now  called.  While  the  people  were  suffering 
manifold  difficulties  from  the  enforcement  of  the  unrighteous  laws  of 
the  Province,  in  the  form  of  indictments,  fines  and  costs  of  Court,  the 
ears  of  many  of  them  were  open  to  receive  the  truth  from  his  lips ; 
and  he,  in  turn,  feeling  that  his  time  for  active  service  was  short,  and 
that  the  demand  for  evangelical  labour  in  the  region  around  him  was 
most  urgent,  addressed  himself  to  his  work  with  a  strength  of  purpose 
and  a  simple  dependence  on  Divine  aid,  that  gave  a  mighty  power  to 
his  ministrations. 

On  this,  his  second  journey  to  Virginia,  Mr.  Davies  was  accompa- 
nied by  his  friend,  the  Rev.  John  Rodgers,  (afterwards  Dr.  Rodgers, 
of  New  York,)  who  had  been  a  fellow-student  with  him,  under  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Blair,  at  Fagg's  Manor.  They  had  become  strongly 


MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES.  15 

attached  to  each  other  during  the,  period  of  their  education,  and,  under 
the  same  influences,  had  imbibed,  in  a  high  degree,  the  same  spirit — 
both  were  glowing  with  love  to  the  Saviour  and  the  cause  for  which 
he  died.  It  was  at  Mr.  Davies'  earnest  request  that  the  Presbytery 
appointed  Mr.  Rodgers  to  perform  a  few  months'  missionary  labour  in 
Virginia — that  thus  these  two  might  become,  for  the  time,  not  only 
companions,  but  fellow-helpers.  They  commenced  their  journey  to 
Virginia,  in  April,  1748,  and  went  directly  to  Hanover,  when,  after 
passing  a  Sabbath,  and  each  of  them  preaching  a  sermon,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  Williamsburg,  to  procure  for  Mr.  Rodgers  a  license  to  preach 
in  the  Province.  In  this,  however,  they  were  unsuccessful;  for 
though  the  Governor  (Gooch)  strongly  favoured  the  application,  and 
did  his  utmost  to  have  the  license  granted,  the  decision  of  the  majority  of 
the  Council  was  adverse  to  it,  and  thus  the  young  missionary  was  obliged 
to  look  out  for  another  field  of  labour.  Accordingly,  before  the  close 
of  May,  he  had  taken  leave  of  his  friend  Davies,  crossed  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay,  and,  after  stopping  for  a  while  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Mary- 
land, finally  settled  as  pastor  of  the  church  of  St.  George's,  in  Delaware. 

The  high  motives  which  controlled  Mr.  Davies  in  the  selection  of 
his  field  of  labour  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  extract  from  a 
letter  addressed  by  him  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  in  whose  diocese 
Virginia  was  reckoned,  under  date  of  January  10,  1752,  nearly  four 
years  after  his  ministry  in  Hanover  commenced : 

"  I  solemnly  assure  your  Lordship  that  it  was  not  the  secret  thirst 
of  filthy  lucre,  nor  the  prospect  of  any  other  personal  advantage,  that 
induced  me  to  settle  here  in  Virginia.  For  sundry  congregations  in 
Pennsylvania,  my  native  country,  and  in  other  Northern  colonies, 
most  earnestly  importuned  me  to  settle  among  them  ;  where  I  should 
have  had  at  least  an  equal  temporal  maintenance,  incomparably  more 
ease,  leisure,  and  peace,  and  the  happiness  of  the  frequent  society  of 
my  brethren  ;  and  where  I  should  never  have  made  a  great  noise  or 
bustle  in  the  world,  but  concealed  myself  in  the  crowd  of  my  superior 
brethren,  and  spent  my  life  in  some  little  service  for  God  and  his 
Church  in  some  peaceful  corner,  which  would  have  been  most  becom- 
ing so  insignificant  a  creature,  and  more  agreeable  to  my  recluse  natu- 
ral temper.  But  all  these  strong  inducements  were  overweighed  by  a 
sense  of  the  necessities  of  the  Dissenters,  as  they  lay  two  or  three 
hundred  miles  distant  from  the  nearest  minister  of  their  own  denomi- 


16  MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES. 

nation,  and  laboured  under  peculiar  embarrassments  for  the  want  of 
a  settled  ministry." 

In  the  summer  of  1748,  Mr.  Davies'  preaching  attracted  great  atten- 
tion, and  many  more  demands  were  made  for  his  public  services  than 
he  was  able  to  meet.  In  order  to  avoid  all  collisions  with  the  public 
authorities,  who  were  resolutely  determined  to  execute  the  laws  in 
favour  of  the  English  Church,  various  petitions  were  presented  to  the 
General  Court  for  an  increased  number  of  authorized  houses  of  wor- 
ship. Accordingly,  three  additional  places  of  preaching  were  licensed, 
thus  making  seven  in  all,  namely,  three  in  Hanover,  one  in  Henrico, 
one  in  Goochland,  one  in  Louisa,  and  one  in  Caroline  county.  Of 
these  he  says  in  his  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  London  : — "  The  nearest 
are  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  apart,  and  many  of  the  people  have  ten, 
fifteen,  or  twenty  miles  to  the  nearest,  and  thirty,  forty,  or  sixty  miles 
to  the  rest ;  nay,  some  of  them  have  thirty  or  forty  miles  to  the 
nearest." 

On  the  4th  of  October,  1748,  Mr.  Davies  formed  a  second  matrimo- 
nial connection  with  Miss  Jane  Holt,  of  Hanover.  She  was  a  lady  of 
great  excellence,  became  the  mother  of  six  children,  and  survived  her 
husband  many  years.  His  residence  at  this  time  was  about  twelve 
miles  from  Richmond,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  meeting-house 
near  what  is  known  as  "  Morris'  Reading  House."  The  edifice,  which 
accommodated  about  five  hundred  people,  was  quite  too  small  for  the 
multitude  that  thronged  to  hear  him  preach  ;  the  consequence  of  which 
was  that  they  were  obliged  often  to  hold  their  services  in  an  adjoining 
forest. 

Though  Mr.  Davies  had  little  difficulty  in  getting  the  sanction  of 
the  public  authorities  to  his  occupying  so  wide  a  field  of  labour,  he 
was  subsequently  brought  into  collision  with  Peyton  Randolph,  the 
King's  Attorney  General,  on  the  question  whether  the  Act  of  Tolera- 
tion which  had  been  passed  in  England  expressly  for  the  relief  of 
Protestant  Dissenters,  extended  also  to  Virginia.  That  this  was  the 
design  of  the  Act,  he  maintained,  in  the  presence  of  the  General  Court, 
with  such  force  of  argument  and  eloquence,  as  to  awaken  the  admira- 
tion even  of  those  who  were  most  hostile  to  the  position  he  defended  ; 
and  it  was  no  small  gratification  to  him,  on  his  subsequent  visit  to 
England,  to  have  his  own  views  on  this  subject  fully  endorsed  by  the 
King  in  Council. 


MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES.  17 

Mr.  Davies,  besides  occupying  sever  different  places  for  preaching, 
and  taking  frequent  journeys  to  attend  the  judicatories  of  the  Church, 
made  many  missionary  excursions  in  the  parts  of  the  country  now 
forming  the  counties  of  Cumberland,  Powhatan,  Prince  Edward,  Char- 
lotte, Campbell,  Nottoway,  and  Amelia.  In  performing  these  circuits, 
he  was  accustomed  either  to  preach  at  the  places  where  he  lodged,  or 
to  address  the  family  and  servants  in  respect  to  their  immortal  inter- 
ests, at  evening  worship.  These  services  were  often  attended  with  a 
special  blessing  ;  and  each  successive  tour  that  he  made,  brought  some 
new  requests  for  Presbyterian  preaching.  He  was  also  deeply  con- 
cerned for  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  coloured  people  labouring 
among  them  with  the  utmost  condescension  and  faithfulness,  and 
bringing  not  a  few  of  them  to  the  acknowledgment  and  obedience  of 
the  truth.  And,  to  crown  all,  he  not  only  laboured  earnestly  to  sup- 
ply the  vacancies  around  him  with  ministers  from  the  Northern  Pres- 
byteries, but  inaugurated  a  system  of  measures  for  providing  ministers 
for  Virginia  from  among  her  own  youth.  He  did  not,  however,  desire 
that  their  education  should  be  completed  under  his  own  direction,  but 
encouraged  them  ultimately  to  seek  the  higher  advantages  which 
were  famished  by  the  College  of  New  Jersey. 

As  early  as  September,  1751,  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  Synod 
of  New  York  by  the  Trustees  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  that  the 
Rev.  Ebenezer  Pemberton,  of  New  York,  might  be  commissioned  to 
visit  Great  Britain  with  a  view  to  solicit  donations  in  behalf  of  the 
then  infant  College.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  Mr. 
Pemberton  on  the  subject ;  but  he  persistently  declined  to  listen  to 
their  proposals.  The  next  year,  by  direction  of  Synod,  collections 
were  taken  for  the  object  in  different  congregations  within  their 
bounds,  but  the  result  was  not,  by  any  means,  adequate  to  the  exi- 
gency ;  in  consequence  of  which,  in  the  next  following  year,  the  plan 
of  sending  a  commission  abroad  was  resumed  by  the  Synod,  and 
Messrs.  Gilbert  Tennent  and  Samuel  Davies  were  designated  to  this 
service. 

The  necessary  preparations  for  the  voyage  having  been  made,  these 
two  brethren  embarked  in  a  vessel,  bound  to  London,  on  the  7th  of 
November,  1753,  and  were  safely  landed  at  the  place  of  their  destina- 
tion on  the  25th  of  December  following.  The  two  kept  together  until 
they  had  reached  Edinburg  ;  but  there  they  parted, — Mr.  Tennent  to 
VOL.  I.— 3 


18  MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES. 

visit  Glasgow,  and  then  pass  into  Ireland  ; — Mr.  Davies  to  visit  the 
principal  cities  and  towns  in  England.  After  having  accomplished 
the  object  of  their  mission,  they  met  again  in  London,  in  October, 
1754.  The  next  month  Mr.  Tennent  sailed  for  Philadelphia,  and  Mr. 
Davies  for  York,  in  Virginia,  where,  after  a  protracted  and  unpleasant 
voyage,  he  arrived  on  the  13th  of  February,  1755. 

This  mission  was  probably  the  most  successful  and  the  most  impor- 
tant ever  made  from  the  colonies  to  the  mother  country.  A  much 
larger  sum  of  money  was  contributed  than  the  most  sanguine  had  ven- 
tured to  hope  for ;  in  addition  to  which  a  large  measure  of  public 
sympathy  was  awakened  in  behalf  of  the  Dissenters  in  Virginia,  as 
well  as  a  greatly  increased  interest  for  the  Christianizing  of  the  Ame- 
rican Indians.  Mr.  Davies  every  where  commanded  the  highest 
respect,  not  only  for  his  great  powers  of  pulpit  eloquence,  in  which  he 
was  justly  considered  as  well  nigh  unrivalled,  but  for  his  fine  social 
qualities  and  eminent  Christian  character.  His  manuscript  journal, 
which  he  kept  during  this  period,  was  preserved  in  two  volumes, 
which,  by  some  means,  were  separated  from  each  other,  the  one  having 
found  its  place  of  deposit  in  the  library  of  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  in  Virginia,  the  other  in  the  library  of  Princeton  College, — 
both,  however,  have  been  published  by  Dr.  Foot,  in  his  "  Sketches  of 
Virginia."  From  this  journal  it  appears  that  Mr.  Davies  made  the 
acquaintance  of  a  large  part  of  the  more  distinguished  of  the  English 
Dissenting  clergy,  and  his  observations  upon  them — of  course  the 
result  of  a  brief  acquaintance — are  in  remarkable  harmony  with  the 
united  testimony  of  tradition  and  history  concerning  them. 

The  following  anecdote  in  connection  with  President  Davies'  visit  to 
London  has  appeared  in  a  memoir  of  his  life,  prefixed  to  one  of  the 
editions  of  his  sermons,  and  has  been  republished  in  several  news- 
papers : — 

So  great  was  his  fame  in  London  as  an  eloquent  preacher,  that 
certain  noblemen  who  had  heard  him,  spoke  of  him  as  one  of  the  won- 
ders of  the  day,  in  the  presence  of  George  II. ;  whereupon  the  King 
directed  his  chaplain  to  invite  Davis  to  preach  in  his  chapel.  The 
invitation  being  given  and  accepted,  the  American  minister,  in  due 
time  appeared  and  preached  before  a  splendid  audience,  consisting  of 
the  royal  family  and  many  of  the  nobility.  While  the  sermon  was 
being  delivered,  the  preacher  observed  the  King  frequently  whisper- 


MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES.  19 

ing  to  those  who  sat  near  him,  causing  them  to  smile.  Davies,  by  way 
of  rebuking  this  irreverent  behaviour,  frowned  and  looked  sternly 
towards  the  King,  and  then  proceeded  with  his  discourse.  The 
offense  was  very  soon  repeated ;  whereupon  the  American  Dissenter 
exclaimed, — "  When  the  lion  roars,  all  the  beasts  of  the  forest  trem- 
ble :  when  King  Jesus  speaks,  the  kings  of  the  earth  should  keep 
silent."  The  King  bowed  courteously,  and  remained  silent  till  the 
service  was  closed.  It  afterwards  appeared  that  the  apparent  disre- 
spect of  the  King  was  the  result  of  his  high  admiration  of  the  elo- 
quence to  which  he  was  listening ; — that  he  was  so  much  delighted 
that  he  could  not  avoid  expressing  his  high  gratification  to  those  who 
were  near  him.  The  result  was  that  the  King  sent  for  Davies  to  visit 
him ;  that  they  had  several  interesting  interviews ;  and  that  His 
Majesty,  as  an  evidence  of  his  regard,  made  a  liberal  donation  to  the 
college. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Carnahan,  late  President  of  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  in  a  communication  made  to  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society, 
in  1848,  proves  conclusively  that  this  story  must  be  apocryphal;  first, 
from  the  fact  that  in  a  most  minute  journal  which  Davies  kept  of  this 
tour,  descending  to  the  details  of  each  day's  experience,  (which  is  still 
extant,)  there  is  no  allusion  to  any  one  of  the  alleged  facts  which  the 
anecdote  includes ;  and  secondly,  from  the  fact  that  Dr.  Gibbons  and 
Dr.  Finley,  and  Mr.  Bostwick,  and  all  the  other  of  his  contemporaries 
who  have  written  concerning  him,  are  entirely  silent  in  respect  to  any 
Buch  occurrence — an  omission  which  can  hardly  be  supposed  if  so 
striking  an  event  had  really  taken  place.  The  story  is  believed  to 
have  been  originated  by  an  agent  employed  in  the  Southern  States, 
half  a  century  ago,  in  selling  an  edition  of  Davies'  sermons. 

Mr.  Davies,  on  his  return  to  his  people,  found  them  and  the  whole 
country  in  the  midst  of  the  most  violent  agitation,  occasioned  by  the 
French  and  Indian  war.  On  the  10th  of  July,  1755,  occurred  Brad- 
dock's  remarkable  defeat,  when  the  brave  young  Colonel  Washington 
won  for  himself  such  imperishable  laurels  by  saving  the  remnant  of 
the  army ;  and  on  the  20th  of  the  same  month,  Mr.  Davies  preached 
a  sermon  in  Hanover,  on  the  words — "  And  in  that  day  did  the  Lord 
God  of  hosts  call  to  weeping,  and  to  mourning,  and  to  baldness,  and 
to  girding  with  sackcloth  ;  and  behold  joy  and  gladness,  slaying  oxen 
and  killing  sheep,  eating  flesh  and  drinking  wine :  let  us  eat  and 


20  MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES. 

drink,  for  to-morrow  we  shall  die.  (Isa.  xxii.  12, 13, 14.)*  In  this  ser- 
mon he  showed  the  highest  type  of  patriotism  in  connection  with  the 
most  earnest  and  glowing  piety,  and  called  upon  his  hearers,  in  a  strain 
of  fervid  eloquence,  from  a  regard  to  their  interests  as  men,  Britons, 
and  Christians,  to  make  a  noble  stand  against  the  cruel  invasion. 
Serious  apprehensions  were  entertained  that  the  negroes  would  become 
the  allies  of  the  French  and  Indians,  and  Mr.  Davies,  whose  influence 
with  the  blacks  was  probably  greater  than  that  of  any  other  person, 
exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  prevent  such  a  coalition.  On  the 
17th  of  August  of  the  same  year,  he  preached  another  thrilling  ser- 
mon suited  to  the  times,  to  the  first  volunteer  company  raised  in  Vir- 
ginia, after  Braddock's  defeat,  on  2  Samuel  x.  12  :  "  Be  of  good 
courage,  and  let  us  play  the  men  for  our  people,  and  for  the  cities  of  our 
God ;  and  the  Lord  do  that  which  seemeth  him  good."t  In  a  note  to 
this  eloquent  discourse  occurs  this  remarkable,  and,  as  it  proved,  truly 
prophetic  sentence — "I  may  point  out  to  the  public  that  heroic  youth, 
Colonel  Washington,  whom  I  cannot  but  hope  Providence  has  hitherto 
preserved  in  so  signal  a  manner,  for  some  important  service."  In 
May,  1758,  he  preached  another  war  sermon,  on  occasion  of  raising  a 
company  of  volunteers  for  Captain  Meredith  ;  and  the  effect  of  the  fol- 
lowing passage  is  said  to  have  been  quite  overwhelming  : — "  May  I 
not  reasonably  insist  upon  it  that  the  company  be  made  up  this  very 
day  before  we  leave  this  place.  Methinks  your  King,  your  country, 
nay,  your  own  interests,  command  me  ;  and  therefore  I  insist  upon  it. 
Oh,  for  the  all-pervading  force  of  Demosthenes'  oratory — but  I  recall 
my  wish,  that  I  may  correct  it — oh,  for  the  influence  of  the  Lord  of 
armies,  the  God  of  battles,  the  Author  of  true  courage  and  every 
heroic  virtue,  to  fire  you  into  patriots  and  true  soldiers  this  moment ! 
Ye  young  and  hardy  men,  whose  very  faces  seem  to  speak  that  God 
and  nature  formed  you  for  soldiers,  who  are  free  from  the  incumbrance 
of  families  depending  upon  you  for  subsistence,  and  who  are  perhaps 
but  of  little  service  to  society  while  at  home,  may  I  not  speak  for  you 
and  declare  at  your  mouth — here  we  are,  all  ready  to  abandon  our 
ease,  and  rush  into  the  glorious  dangers  of  the  field,  in  defence  of  our 
country  ?  Ye  that  love  your  country,  enlist ;  for  honour  will  follow 
you  in  life  or  death  in  such  a  cause.  You  that  love  your  religion, 

*  Sermon  No.  LXIX,  in  this  edition  of  his  works. 
•}•  Sermon  No.  LXI. 


MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES.  21 

enlist ;  for  your  religion  is  in  danger.  Can  Protestant  Christianity 
expect  quarters  from  heathen  savages  and  French  papists  ?  Sure,  in 
such  an  alliance  the  powers  of  hell  make  a  third  party.  Ye  that  love 
your  friends  and  relations,  enlist ;  lest  ye  see  them  enslaved  and 
butchered  before  your  eyes."  Such  was  the  effect  of  the  discourse 
that,  within  a  few  minutes  after  its  delivery,  the  company  was  made 
up  ;  and  even  more  offered  their  services  than  the  captain  was  author- 
ized to  accept.* 

But  while  Mr.  Davies  was  so  intensely  interested  for  the  cause  of 
his  country,  and  stood  ready  to  identify  himself  with  every  effort  for 
the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  in  defence  of  both  their  civil  and 
Christian  rights,  his  zeal  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  own  flock 
never  even  seemed  to  wane — not  only  was  he  intent  on  preaching  the 
Gospel  within  his  own  immediate  sphere,  which  was  very  extended, 
but  he  was  prompt  to  obey  any  summons  that  should  carry  him  abroad, 
and  had  more  to  do  with  the  formation  of  new  churches  and  the  set- 
tlement of  ministers  over  them,  than  any  other  minister  in  the  colony. 
Indeed  he  was,  by  universal  consent,  the  master  spirit  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  throughout  that  region  ;  and  probably  in  no  part  of  the 
Church  was  there  another  minister  who  combined  so  many  elements 
of  a  controlling  and  well-nigh  irresistible  influence. 

But  the  time  had  now  come  when  Mr.  Davies  was  to  be  called  to 
another,  and  in  some  respects  a  more  prominent  position.  On  the  16th 
of  August,  1758,  he  was  chosen  to  succeed  Jonathan  Edwards  as  Pre- 
sident of  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  The  question  of  his  removal  was 
immediately  submitted  to  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover,  and  was  decided 
in  the  negative.  A  letter  which  he  addressed  to  the  Trustees  of  the 
College,  dated  October  17,  1758,  contains  a  decided  answer  to  a 
renewed  request  from  Princeton,  and  shows  an  earnest  wish  to  have 

*  It  is  impossible  to  tell  how  far  the  decisive  action  which  was  taken  ~by 
the  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia  at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, may  have  been  brought  about  by  the  influence  of  Mr.  Davies'  opinions 
and  eloquence  in  that  colony.  But  it  is  well  known  that  from  the  eleventh 
to  the  twenty-second  year  of  his  age,  Patrick  Henry  heard  the  patriotic 
sermons  of  Davies  delivered,  and  was  his  enthusiastic  admirer.  It  has  been 
asserted,  and  it  was  very  probably  true,  that  Davies  afforded  the  model  and 

kindled  the  fire  of  Henry's  eloquence. 

[EDITOR  or  THE  BOARD.] 


22  MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES. 

the  whole  subject  dismissed.  Though  the  communication  is  some- 
what long,  I  think  proper  to  introduce  it  in  this  connection,  partly 
because  I  am  not  aware  that  it  has  ever  been  published,  and  partly 
because  it  brings  out  very  impressively  some  of  the  prominent  features 
in  Mr.  Davies'  character.  The  letter  is  as  follows : — 

GENTLEMEN  : — 

I  encouraged  myself  and  my  friends  in  Virginia,  that  my  last  answer, 
and  the  judgment  of  the  Presbytery,  would  have  been  received  as  a 
final  decision  ;  and  that  my  perplexities  would  have  no  more  been 
renewed  by  another  application.  And  if,  from  my  warm  declaration 
of  my  zeal  "to  serve  the  college,"  my  candid  friend,  Mr.  Smith, 
inferred,  and  therefore  reported  to  you,  that  I  thought  my  way  clear  to 
serve  it  in  the  character  of  a  President,  either  the  incautious  and 
vague  form  of  expressing  myself,  or  the  generous  partiality  of  his 
friendship  for  me,  tempted  him  to  put  a  construction  upon  my  words 
that  I  by  no  means  intended.  I  assure  you,  gentlemen,  I  do  not 
desire  the  compliment  of  repeated  entreaties  to  accept  the  honour  the 
Trustees  have  been  pleased  to  confer  upon  me ;  but  my  hesitation,  my 
delays  and  anxious  inquiries,  have  been  entirely  owing  to  my  sincere 
desire  to  discover  my  duty,  and  secure  the  approbation  of  my  con- 
science in  accepting  or  rejecting  the  proposal :  and  in  this  view,  I  hope 
the  Trustees  will  excuse,  or  at  least  forgive  me  the  trouble  I  have 
involuntarily  occasioned  them,  which  affords  me  more  concern,  I  dare 
say,  than  to  any  of  them. 

Upon  Mr.  Halsey's  unexpected  arrival,  I  sent  to  consult  those  mem- 
bers of  Presbytery  who  had  formed  the  former  judgment ;  and  I  also 
made  such  inquiries  of  him,  as  I  thought  necessary  to  give  me  a  fair 
and  full  view  of  the  matter,  and  constrained  him  to  be  unreserved  and 
open-hearted.  I  have  already  received  the  answer  of  two  leading 
members  of  the  Presbytery  ;  and  as  I  expect  that  those  of  the  rest 
will  generally  coincide  with  theirs ;  and  as  I  am  called  abroad  and 
may  not  have  leisure  to  write,  when  that  comes  to  hand  ;  I  venture  to 
send  you  my  final  answer  now,  founded  upon  the  best  intelligence  I 
can  receive.  And  as  I  have  honestly  endeavoured  to  discover  my  duty, 
with  all  the  impartiality  and  integrity  I  am  capable  of,  I  am  encour- 
aged to  hope,  a  gracious  God  will  not  suffer  me  to  mistake  it ;  and 
therefore  my  former  anxieties  are  subsided,  and  my  mind  has  recovered 
that  sacred  calm  which  is  the  attendant  of  a  full  conviction. 


MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES.  23 

My  final  answer  then  is,  that  in.  present  circumstances,  my  way  is 
not  at  all  clear  to  accept  the  presidentship,  or  even  to  serve  in  that 
character  pro  tcmpore  till  the  Synod ;  and  therefore  I  desire  the  Trus- 
tees would  proceed  to  the  choice  of  another,  and  have  no  more  depend- 
ence upon  me. 

As  this  answer,  gentlemen,  may  be  somewhat  unexpected,  and  as  I 
give  it  in  more  decisive  terms  than  I  could  safely  use  in  my  former, 
you  may  justly  demand  the  reasons  of  it ;  and  they  are  such  as  these. 

Though,  to  my  great  surprise,  my  reverend  brethren  and  other  friends 
in  Virginia,  have  no  objections  to  the  offer  upon  the  footing  of  my 
insufficiency,  which  is  one  of  my  chief  objections  ;  yet,  they  apprehend 
I  am  of  so  much  importance  in  my  present  situation,  to  the  interests 
of  religion,  and  the  liberty  and  honour  of  the  Dissenters  of  this  colony, 
so  exposed  to  the  oppression  of  high-flyers,  by  the  influence  I  have 
somehow  acquired  with  the  great  men  here,  and  my  correspondence 
in  Great  Britain,  that  I  can  by  no  means  be  spared  from  Virginia  ; 
and  that  the  injury  would  be  so  great  and  irreparable  here,  that,  if  the 
College  should  even  suffer  by  my  non-compliance,  it  would  be  the  lesser 
evil,  and  consequently  rather  to  be  chosen.  It  is  with  an  ill  grace 
these  extravagant  panegyrics  upon  myself  come  from  my  pen  :  but  I 
transcribe  them  in  the  most  modest  language  from  their  letters ;  and  I 
cannot  avoid  it  if  I  would  give  you  a  full  view  of  the  case. 

But  here  1  must  be  so  impartial  as  to  add,  that  the  Presbytery 
would  acquiesce  in  my  judgment,  even  if  I  should  determine  to  remove, 
and  have  desired  me  to  judge  for  myself.  But  I  put  more  confidence 
in  their  judgment  than  my  own,  in  so  dubious  a  case  ;  and  can  by 
no  means  venture  in  opposition  to  it,  though  they  give  it  with  dif- 
fidence and  hesitation. 

Another  reason  of  my  refusal  is,  that  the  vote  for  me  was  not  at  all 
unanimous,  and  carried  but  by  a  very  small  majority ;  that  sundry  of 
the  Trustees,  who  are  good  judges  of  merit,  and  well  acquainted  with 
me,  look  upon  me  as  unfit  for  the  place  ;  and  I  am  not  capable  of  such 
gross  self-flattery,  as  to  dissent  from  them  in  this  ;  nor  do  I  make  the 
estimate  they  form  of  me,  the  standard  of  their  worth  or  of  my  affec- 
tion for  them.  I  cannot  bear  the  thought  of  thrusting  myself  in, 
though  by  a  fair  and  honourable  election,  in  opposition  to  gentlemen 
whom  I  do  highly  revere,  and  cannot  bear  to  offend :  and  as  I  am  a 
lover  of  peace,  and  never  was  formed  to  be  a  fire-brand  of  contention, 


24  MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIE8. 

I  cannot  offer  such  violence  to  myself,  nor  do  the  college  so  great  an 
injury,  as  to  enter  as  an  incendiary,  to  cast  it  into  a  conflagration, 
which  could  not  be  easily  quenched,  and  which  would  soon  melt  away 
my  tender,  unmanly  spirit.  I  have  good  authority,  I  think,  for  this, 
from  speaking  circumstances,  or  authentic  information ;  but  I  beg  you 
would  not  suspect  Mr.  Halsey  has  betrayed  his  trust ;  or  that  any  one 
of  the  Trustees  has  wrote  to  dissuade  me.  Mr.  Halsey  has  acquitted 
himself  like  an  honest  man  ;  and  the  college  is  obliged  to  him  for  a 
faithful,  artless  representation.  Not  one  of  the  Trustees  that  voted 
against  me  has  either  directly  or  indirectly,  as  far  as  I  know,  wrote  to 
me,  or  any  one  in  Virginia,  to  throw  any  obstacle  in  my  way.  But  I 
have  credible,  well-informed  correspondents,  that  do  not  belong  to  your 
honourable  Board,  in  whom  I  can  place  the  utmost  confidence,  and 
when  the  case  is  so  intricate,  that  I  have  hardly  any  judgment  of  my 
own,  I  think  it  my  duty  even  implicitly  to  act  upon  that  of  others. 

But  the  principal  reason  of  my  refusal  is,  that  as,  from  a  very 
thorough  and  long  acquaintance  with  my  worthy  rival,  Mr.  Finley,  I 
believe,  in  my  conscience,  without  the  least  ostentatious  affectation  of 
humility,  he  is  incomparably  better  qualified  for  the  place  than  I  am, 
or  ever  expect  to  be,  I  cannot  bear  the  thought  of  thrusting  myself 
into  the  seat,  to  the  exclusion  of  him  who,  I  am  persuaded,  will  fill  it 
with  dignity,  and  to  the  universal  satisfaction  of  all  candid  judges  of 
real  worth,  when  fully  tried  and  known.  And  whenever  I  have  had 
any  thought  of  accepting  the  invitation,  it  has  always  been  upon  the 
supposition  that  the  Trustees  to  whom  I  have  no  right  or  inclination 
to  prescribe,  would  not  in  general,  think  as  I  do ;  and,  consequently 
that  he  would  not  be  chosen,  even  if  I  should  refuse.  But  as  it  now 
appears  to  me,  there  is  at  least  a  great  probability  that  Mr.  Finley 
will  be  chosen,  I  think  myself  bound  in  conscience  to  give  up  my 
election  in  his  favour  ;  and  with  all  the  force  of  persuasion  and  entreaty 
I  can  use  to  transfer  to  him  whatever  interest  I  may  have  obtained 
among  the  Trustees  by  the  generous  excess  of  their  charity. 

If  my  officiating  in  the  college  as  Vice  President  for  some  months 
would  be  of  any  service  to  it,  I  would  cheerfully  comply,  notwith- 
standing the  mutual  bereavement  I  and  my  helpless  family  would  suf- 
fer by  it.  But  since  the  way  is  not  clear  for  my  accepting  the  place 
as  stated  President ;  since  the  judgment  of  the  Presbytery  lies  in  my 
way ;  and  it  is  not  unlikely  the  Synod  would  confirm  their  judgment; 


MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES.  25 

I  apprehend  it  would  answer  no  'Valuable  end.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  might  be  productive  of  sundry  bad  consequences ;  particu- 
larly, it  would  keep  the  college  still  longer  in  an  unsettled  state ;  and 
tempt  some  to  suspect  I  have  an  eager  ambition  to  accept  the  place ; 
and  I  could  give  no  umbrage  for  such  a  prodigious  mistake. 

I  may  venture  to  refer  you  to  my  honest  and  learned  friend,  Mr. 
Halsey,  as  well  as  to  your  former  messenger,  to  attest  the  caution  and 
impartiality  with  which  I  have  proceeded  in  the  whole  matter.  And 
could  I  communicate  for  a  moment  the  sensations  of  my  mind  into 
yours,  you  would  never  impute  my  refusal  to  the  want  of  affectionate 
zeal  and  concern  for  the  College,  or  an  ungrateful  contempt  or  insensi- 
bility of  the  immerited  honour  the  Trustees  have  done  me. 

I  beg  you  would  make  my  most  dutiful  compliments  acceptable  to 
His  Excellency  your  Governor,  for  whom  I  have  a  very  high  venera- 
tion as  a  patron  of  virtue,  liberty,  and  learning.  I  congratulate  you 
and  the  College  on  the  happiness  of  being  under  his  administration, 
and  pray  God  long  to  continue  the  blessing. 

I  present  my  affectionate  compliments  also  to  the  whole  Board  of 
Trustees  promiscuously,  whether  my  electors  or  not.  I  am  obliged  to 
the  former  for  their  friendship  for  me :  and  I  must  value  the  latter 
for  their  better  judgment  in  this  instance,  and  the  prevalence  of  public 
spirit  over  private  friendship. 

With  a  heart  full  of  gratitude  and  love  to  you  in  particular,  I  am, 
gentlemen, 

Your  most  obliged  and  most  humble  servant, 

SAM'L   DAVIES. 

HANOVER,  Oct.  18, 1758. 

So  deeply  were  the  Trustees  of  the  College  impressed  with  the  idea 
that  Mr.  Davies  was  the  man  for  the  place  above  any  other  within 
their  reach,  that  notwithstanding  the  above  letter,  and  the  adverse 
decision  of  Presbytery  already  rendered,  they  brought  the  subject 
before  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  at  its  meeting  in 
May,  1759,  earnestly  requesting  that  he  might  be  liberated  from  his 
pastoral  charge,  with  a  view  to  being  placed  at  the  head  of  the  College. 
Though  this  application  met  with  a  strong  remonstrance  from  his  con- 
gregation, so  deeply  was  the  Synod  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  im- 
portance of  the  institution,  and  of  his  rare  qualifications  for  the 
presidential  chair,  that  they  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  best  inter- 

VOL.  I.—4 


26  MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES. 

ests  of  the  church  required  that  he  should  be  transferred  to  Prince- 
ton ;  and,  accordingly,  his  pastoral  relation  was  dissolved.  He 
deferred  to  the  judgment  of  Synod  in  the  matter,  and  preached  his  fare- 
well sermon  on  the  1st  of  July  following,  from  2  Cor.  xiii.  11.  "  Finally, 
brethren,  farewell,"  &c.  *  In  this  sermon,  while  he  expresses  the 
warmest  regard  for  his  people,  and  the  deepest  sorrow  at  the  thought 
of  being  separated  from  them,  he  details  the  circumstances  which  had 
shut  him  up  to  the  conviction  that  the  providence  of  God  favoured 
his  removal. 

Mr.  Davies  immediately  repaired  to  Princeton,  and  entered  upon 
his  official  duties  on  the  26th  of  July ;  though  he  was  not  formally 
inaugurated  as  President  of  the  College  until  the  26th  of  September. 
From  the  commencement  of  his  labours  here,  it  was  not  easy  to  fix  a 
limit  to  his  zeal,  or  his  efforts  for  promoting  the  best  interests  of  the 
College.  And  his  success  was  what  might  have  been  expected  from 
his  ability  and  his  industry.  The  friends  of  the  College,  in  both. 
Europe  and  America,  watched  all  his  benevolent  and  efficient  move- 
ments in  connection  with  the  institution  with  the  greatest  interest ;  not 
doubting  that,  under  his  mild,  judicious,  energetic  control,  it  was  des- 
tined to  reach  a  much  higher  point  of  honourable  usefulness  than  it 
had  done  even  under  his  illustrious  predecessors. 

But  the  bright  hopes  of  his  friends,  of  the  College,  and  of  the  Church 
at  large,  were  destined  to  an  early  disappointment.  On  the  first  of 
January,  1761,  he  preached  a  New  Year's  sermon  in  the  college 
chapel,  from  the  words, — "  This  year  thou  shalt  die  ;"  and  on  the  4th 
of  February  following,  his  text  was  verified  in  its  application  to  him- 
self. He  had  taken  a  violent  cold,  for  which  he  was  bled  on  Satur- 
day, though  he  was  occupied  during  the  day,  in  transcribing  for  the 
press  his  sermon  on  the  death  of  King  George  II. f  On  the  Sabbath 
following,  he  preached  twice  in  the  College  chapel.  On  Monday  morn- 
ing, while  sitting  at  the  breakfast  table,  he  was  seized  with  chills,  fol- 
lowed by  an  inflammatory  fever,  affecting  his  brain.  While  his  facul- 
ties were  continued  to  him,  his  mind  was  composed,  and  the  future 
evidently  opened  upon  him  in  a  field  of  glory  ;  and  during  the  wan- 
derings incident  to  his  disease,  he  was  constantly  occupied  in  endeav- 
ouring to  devise  plans  for  doing  good.  His  death  was  every  way 

*  Sermon  No.  LXXXII.  in  these  volumes.  f  Sermon  LX. 


MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES.  27 

worthy  of  his  life.  An  affectionate  tribute  was  paid  to  his  memory  by 
Dr.  Finley,  his  successor,  in  a  sermon  preached  on  occasion  of  his 
death,  from  Rom  xiv.  7,  8,  and  printed  by  request  of  the  Trustees  of 
the  College.*  The  Rev.  David  Bostwick,  of  New  York,  one  of  Mr. 
Davies'  most  intimate  friends,  had  been  intrusted  by  him  with  the 
superintendence  of  the  printing  of  the  sermon  on  the  death  of  George 
II.,  and  he  accompanied  it  with  a  prefuce,  not  only  commendatory  of 
the  sermon,  but  highly  eulogistic  of  the  writer.f  Dr.  Thomas  Gibbons, 
of  London,  who  had  been  for  several  years  his  correspondent,  and  who 
made  the  selection  of  his  sermons  for  publication,  preached  a  comme- 
morative sermon,  which  he  published  in  connection  with  that  of  Dr. 
Finley,  in  the  first  volume  of  the  sermons  of  his  deceased  friend.J 

The  following  is  a  list  of  President  Davies'  publications : — A  Ser- 
mon on  Man's  Primitive  State,  1748.  The  State  of  Religion  among 
the  Protestant  Dissenters  in  Virginia,  in  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Bellamy,  1751.  A  Sermon  preached  at  the  Installation  of  the  Rev. 
John  Todd,  1752.  Religion  and  Patriotism  the  Constituents  of  a 
Good  Soldier.  A  Sermon  preached  before  a  Company  of  Volunteers, 
1755.  Virginia's  Danger  and  Remedy :  two  discourses  occasioned  by 
the  severe  Drought,  and  the  Defeat  of  General  Braddock,  1756. 
Letters  showing  the  State  of  Religion  in  Virginia,  particularly  among 
the  Negroes,  1751-1757.  A  Sermon  on  "  Little  Children  invited  to 
Jesus  Christ,  1757.  The  Curse  of  Cowardice.  A  Sermon  before 
the  militia  of  Virginia,  1758.  A  Valedictory  Discourse  to  the  Senior 
Class  in  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  1760.  A  Sermon  on  the  Death 
of  George  II.,  1761.  He  was  also  the  author  of  several  important 
public  documents,  and  of  various  hymns  and  other  pieces  of  poetry, 
some  of  which  attracted  great  attention.  A  selection  of  his  sermons, 
in  three  volumes,  including  most  of  those  which  had  been  published  in 
his  life-time,  was  given  to  the  world  shortly  after  his  death  ;  and  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  any  sermons  in  the  English  language  have  been 
more  widely  read  or  more  universally  approved  and  admired. 

President  Davies,  though  his  public  life  was  all  included  within 
the  brief  period  of  fourteen  years,  left  a  broader,  deeper,  more  endur- 
ing mark  than  almost  any  of  his  contemporaries  in  the  ministry  on 

*  Inserted  in  this  volume. 
|  Inserted  in  this  volume. 
J  Also  in  part  published  in  this  volume. 


28 


MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES. 


either  side  of  the  ocean.  Of  his  personal  appearance  I  find  no  authen- 
tic record  beyond  the  fact  that  he  was  of  a  somewhat  plethoric  habit ; 
but  his  manners  were  highly  graceful  and  polished,  while  yet  they 
were  characterized  by  a  beautiful  simplicity.  He  had  great  compre- 
hensiveness and  vigour  of  intellect ;  an  exuberant  but  chaste  ima- 
gination ;  a  highly  cultivated  taste ;  and  a  memory  from  which  hardly 
any  thing  ever  escaped  that  was  lodged  in  it.  In  his  moral  constitu- 
tion also  he  was  eminently  favoured — he  was  naturally  genial  and 
cordial ;  full  of  kindness,  sympathy  and  charity.  And  to  crown  all, 
he  was  among  the  brightest  models  of  Christian  character — the  work 
of  the  Spirit  in  his  heart  had  been  most  radical  and  thorough — his 
religion,  as  it  appeared  in  the  outer  life,  was  a  most  harmonious  and 
attractive  development  of  all  the  Christian  graces.  There  was  no 
service  which  he  was  not  ready  to  undertake,  no  cross  which  he 
accounted  it  a  hardship  to  bear  for  the  honour  of  his  Master.  While 
he  was  steadfast  to  his  own  convictions  of  the  truth,  he  was  a  fine 
example  of  enlightened  Catholicism,  and  welcomed  cordially  in  Chris- 
tian fellowship  all  in  whom  he  could  recognize  the  Master's  image. 

Being  thus  richly  endowed  both  by  nature  and  by  grace,  it  were 
to  be  expected  that  he  would  adorn  every  relation,  and  that  his  life 
would  be  one  of  eminent  usefulness.  Accordingly,  wherever  he  moved, 
blessings  seemed  to  hang  upon  his  footsteps.  In  his  general  inter- 
course with  society,  he  was  discreet  and  cautious,  but  was  evidently 
always  upon  the  look-out  for  opportunities  to  benefit  those  with  whom 
he  associated-  He  never  took  on  self-righteousness  or  consequential 
airs,  and  yet  every  one  saw  and  felt  that  his  most  ordinary  actions 
were  performed  under  the  influence  of  the  powers  of  the  world  to 
come.  In  the  pulpit,  he  possessed  rare  advantages  in  respect  to  the 
style,  the  structure,  and  the  delivery  of  his  sermons.  Though  his 
style,  as  it  appears  in  most  of  his  printed  sermons,  might  seem  to  an 
exact  taste  to  be  somewhat  verbose,  and  sometimes  even  declamatory, 
yet  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  discourses,  with  few  exceptions, 
were  not  designed  for  publication  ;  and  being  intended  for  the  ear 
rather  than  the  eye,  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  the  character- 
istics alluded  to  should  be  considered  as  blemishes.  The  power  of 
his  manner  consisted  in  the  melody  and  compass  of  his  voice,  in  the 
naturalness,  and  gracefulness,  and  dignity  of  his  attitudes,  and  in  the 
fervour  of  his  spirit,  brightening  his  countenance  and  animating  his 


MEMOIR    OF    PRESIDENT    DAVIES.  29 

whole  form.  The  staple  of  his  .preaching  was  in  the  highest  degree 
evangelical — he  seemed  always  to  dwell  within  sight  of  the  cross ; 
and  every  discourse  was  redolent  at  once  of  tenderness  and  sublimity. 
There  are  passages  in  some  of  his  printed  sermons,  which  for  simple 
exhibition  of  divine  truth,  and  fervent  power  of  appeal,  are  perhaps 
unrivalled.  Dr.  John  H.  Livingston,  the  only  man  whom  I  ever 
heard  speak  of  President  Davies'  preaching,  who  had  personal  recollec- 
tions of  it,  assured  me  that  he  was  the  most  impressive  and  powerful 
pulpit  orator  to  whom  he  had  ever  listened  ;  and  this  is  in  accordance 
with  the  recorded  statements  of  others  who  have  heard  him,  as  well  as 
with  his  traditionary  reputation.  But  his  labour  for  the  spiritual 
interests  of  his  fellow-men  were  far  from  being  confined  to  the  pulpit — 
he  was  a  most  devoted  pastor.  Though  he  had  so  many  congregations 
to  care  for,  and  his  charge  was  spread  over  so  wide  a  territory,  he  had 
his  eye,  as  far  as  possible,  upon  the  spiritual  needs  of  all ;  and  none 
ever  wanted  for  suitable  counsel,  or  consolation,  or  help,  whom  his 
pastoral  attentions  could  reach.  And  he  never  considered  himself 
as  stepping  aside  from  his  path  of  duty  as  a  Christian  minister,  in 
enlisting  vigorously  in  behalf  of  his  country.  In  the  day  of  her 
peril  he  came  up  to  her  help,  not  as  a  party-politician,  but  as  a  self- 
sacrificing  Christian  patriot ;  and  it  was  through  his  eloquent  tongue 
and  pen  that  multitudes  of  the  young  men  of  Virginia  were  baptized 
with  a  spirit  of  invincible  courage.  And  last  of  all,  during  the  brief 
period  that  he  had  occupied  the  presidential  chair  at  Princeton,  he 
proved  himself  fully  worthy  of  the  place — his  kindly  spirit,  his  urbane 
manners,  his  inventive  and  comprehensive  intellect,  his  overpowering 
eloquence,  his  untiring  industry,  all  contributed  to  give  him  an  influ- 
ence not  only  with  the  students,  but  with  the  Trustees,  and  all  the 
friends  of  the  College,  to  which  it  was  not  easy  to  fix  a  limit.  Through 
his  whole  active  life,  he  moved  in  a  glorious  sphere,  and  the  lapse  of  a 
century  has  left  his  memory  as  fragrant  as  ever. 


THE 

DISINTERESTED  AND  DEVOTED  CHRISTIAN. 

A  SERMON,  PKEACHED  AT  NASSAU-HALL,  PRINCETON,  MAY  28, 
1761.  OCCASIONED  BY  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  SAMUEL  DA- 
VIES,  A.  M.  LATE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  COLLEGE  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 

BY  SAMUEL  FINLEY,  D.  D., 

MR.  DAVIES'  SUCCESSOR  AS  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SAID  COLLEGE. 
TO  WHICH  ARE  ADDED  SOME  MEMOIRS  OF  MR.  DAVIES,  BY 
ANOTHER  HAND. 

ROMANS  xiv.  7,  8. 

For  none  of  us  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself,  for 
whether  we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord  ;  or  whether  we  die,  we  die 
unto  the  Lord :  whether  we  live  therefore,  or  die,  we  are  the  Lord's. 

As  the  very  dear  and  reverend  man,  whose  premature  and  unex- 
pected death,  we,  amongst  thousands,  this  day  lament,  expressed  his 
desire,  that,  upon  this  mournful  event,  a  sermon  should  be  preached 
from  these  words,  he  plainly  intimated  his  expectation,  that  the  au- 
dience should  be  entertained,  not  with  an  ornamented  funeral  oration, 
but  with  such  an  instructive  discourse  as  the  text  itself  naturally  sug- 
gests. The  subject  being  his  own  choice,  I  cannot  doubt  but  this 
friendly  audience  will  the  more  closely  and  seriously  attend,  as  con- 
ceiving him,  though  dead,  yet  speaking  to  them  the  solemn  truths  it 
contains.  For  having  been  admitted  into  the  full  knowledge  of  his 
religious  principles,  I  may  presume  on  speaking  many  of  the  senti- 
ments he  intended  from  this  text,  though  not  in  his  more  sublime  and 
oratorial  manner. 

When  I  reflect  on  the  truly  Christian,  generous,  yet  strict  Catholi- 
cism that  distinguishes  this  whole  chapter,  and  how  deeply  it  was  im- 
printed on  Mr.  Davies'  own  spirit,  and  influenced  the  course  of  his 

31 


32  A   FUNERAL    SERMON 

life,  I  am  ready  to  conclude,  that  perhaps  no  text  could  be  more  aptly 
chosen  on  the  occasion.  It  expresses  the  very  temper  that  should  be 
predominant  in  all,  and  which  actually  is  so  in  every  pious  breast. 

That  we  may  apprehend  the  scope  and  genuine  sense  of  the  words, 
it  is  necessary  to  observe,  that  warm  debates  at  that  time  arose  between 
the  Jewish  and  Gentile  converts,  about  the  difference  of  meats  and 
days  established  by  the  Mosaic  law ;  and,  so  sharp  was  the  contention, 
that  they  were  mutually  disposed  to  exclude  each  other  from  Chris- 
tian communion.  The  Gentile  being  under  no  bias  from  the  powerful 
prejudices  of  education  and  custom,  was  sooner  and  easier  convinced 
of  his  freedom  from  that  yoke  of  bondage,  and  despised  the  Jew  as 
weak  to  admiration,  and  scrupulous  to  a  fault.  The  Jew,  on  the  other 
hand,  persuaded  that  these  ancient  divine  institutions  were  still  obliga- 
tory, censured  and  condemned  the  Gentile  as  inconscientious,  and  pro- 
fanely regardless  of  God's  awful  authority. 

The  Apostle,  in  order  to  quell  the  growing  strife,  maturely  deter- 
mines that,  though  the  Gentile  held  the  right  side  of  the  question, 
yet  both  parties  were  wrong  as  to  their  temper  of  mind,  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  managed  the  controversy ;  and  that  they  laid  an 
undue  stress  on  the  matters  of  difference,  and  carried  their  censures 
higher  than  the  merits  of  the  cause  would  at  all  justify.  He  there- 
fore recommends  moderation  to  both,  and  sets  before  them  sufficient 
reasons  why  they  should  judge  of  each  other  more  charitably,  since 
they  agreed  in  all  those  principal  points  that  would  justly  denominate 
them  "  the  servants  of  the  Lord."  For  if  they  would  reckon  it  a  bold 
intrusion  to  call,  before  their  tribunal,  condemn,  and  punish  another 
man's  servant,  over  whom  they  had  no  legal  authority ;  how  much 
more  arrogant  and  presumptuous  must  it  be  so  to  treat  a  servant  of 
the  Lord ;  ver.  4. 

Again,  let  them  be  so  candid  as  to  persuade  themselves,  that,  unless 
the  contrary  be  evident,  they  who  differ  from  them,  mistaken  or  not, 
are  influenced  by  a  conscientious  regard  to  the  divine  glory,  ver.  6. 
This  admitted,  their  personal  censures  will  necessarily  be  milder,  even 
though  their  judgment  of  the  points  in  debate  continue  unaltered ; 
and  this  must  be  admitted,  if  they  can  charitably  judge,  that  their  re- 
spective opponents  are  real  Christians :  for  in  all  such  the  governing 
principle  is,  "  not  to  live  to  themselves,  but  to  the  Lord.  For  none 
of  us  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself.  For  whether 


ON    THE   DEATH   OF    MR.    DAVIES.  33 

we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord  ;  or  whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the 
Lord :  whether  we  live  therefore,  or  die,  we  are  the  Lord's."  Now, 
if  no  pious  person  lives  merely  to  please  himself,  we  ought  not  to 
judge  that  his  aversion  from,  or  attachment  to  certain  meats  and  days, 
arises  only  from  a  selfish  humour :  but,  on  the  contrary,  since  his 
whole  life  is  governed  by  an  honest  regard  to  the  will  of  God,  it  is 
altogether  credible  that,  in  his  diiferent  conduct  respecting  meats  and 
days,  he  acts  from  the  same  principle ;  for  whatever  is  true  of  the 
general,  is  also  true  of  all  the  particulars  contained  under  it.  Sup- 
pose a  man  to  be  a  real  Christian,  you  then  suppose  him  to  be  of  an 
upright  heart,  of  a  tender  conscience,  and  one  who  dares  not  to  ne- 
glect, nor  live  in  contradiction  to  known  duty.  He  makes  it  his  main 
business  to  please  God,  and  shall  we  be  implacably  disgusted  because 
he  does  not  rather  endeavour  to  please  us  ?  God  forbid. 

Thus,  while  our  text  affords  a  convincing  argument  for  moderation 
in  judging  of  other  Christians,  who  differ  from  us  in  circumstantials, 
it  teaches  us  what  should  be  the  principle  and  end  of  our  life,  and  that 
both  negatively  and  positively.  We  may  not  live  nor  die  to  ourselves, 
but  to  the  Lord. 

I.  "  We  may  not  live  to  ourselves." 

This  proposition  supposes,  what  is  a  demonstrable  truth,  that  we  are 
not  the  absolute  proprietors,  and  therefore  have  not  the  rightful  dis- 
posal of  our  lives.  For  since  we  could  exert  no  kind  of  efficiency  in 
bringing  ourselves  from  nothing  into  existence,  we  could  not  possibly 
design  ourselves  for  any  end  or  purpose  of  our  own.  Hence  it  is  evi- 
dent, that,  whose  property  soever  we  are,  we  belong  not  to  ourselves ; 
consequently,  it  is  the  highest  indecency  to  behave  as  though  we  were 
accountable  to  none  other.  As  rationally  may  we  claim  self-existence 
and  independence.  It  will,  therefore,  be  an  eternal  solecism  in  action 
to  aim  chiefly  at  our  own  glory,  seek  only  our  own  things,  or  pursue 
most  eagerly  our  own  pleasures.  Right  reason  itself  peremptorily  de- 
nies that  the  dictates  of  our  own  minds  are  our  supreme  rule  of  con- 
duct, or  that  our  own  will  is  our  law ;  much  less  may  we  subject  our- 
selves to  the  government  of  blind  passions,  or  indulge  irregular  ap- 
petites. 

We  are  not  at  liberty,  nor  have  we  any  authority,  to  employ  either 
the  members  of  our  bodies,  or  powers  of  our  souls,  at  pleasure,  as  if 
we  had  originally  designed  their  use.  Hence  it  will  appear  criminal, 
VOL.  I.— 5 


34  A    FUNERAL    SERMON 

on  the  one  hand,  to  waste  our  time,  or  expend  our  strength  in  useless 
exercises ;  and,  on  the  other,  to  allow  an  idle  negligence  in  necessary 
business.  Our  tongues  themselves,  those  unruly  members,  must  be 
patient  of  restraint ;  for  it  is  the  language  only  of  haughty  rebels  to 
say,  "  Our  lips  are  our  own,  who  is  lord  over  us  ?"  Psalm  xii.  4. 
Our  very  thoughts  are  to  be  confined  within  prescribed  limits,  and  all 
our  rational  powers  statedly  exercised,  not  in  merely  curious  and 
amusing  researches,  but  in  matters  the  most  useful  and  important. 

It  also  follows,  that  the  product  of  our  activity,  whatever  is  acquired 
by  the  exertion  of  these  powers,  ought  not  to  terminate  in  ourselves. 
Are  we  in  pursuit  of  learning,  that  ornament  of  human  minds,  it 
should  not  be  with  a  view  only  to  shine  more  conspicuous,  but  that  we 
may  serve  our  generation  to  better  advantage.  Has  God  blessed  "  the 
hand  of  the  diligent"  with  abundant  riches  ?  We  are  not  to  consider 
them  as  the  means  of  gratifying  vanity,  or  "  fulfilling  the  desires  of 
the  flesh,  and  of  the  mind  ;"  for  we  must  il  honour  the  Lord  with  our 
substance."  Prov.  iii.  9.  Has  God  clothed  any  of  us  with  power  ? 
This  is  not  a  discharge  from  his  service,  nor  a  freedom  from  subjection 
to  his  laws,  but  a  stronger  obligation  to  duty,  as  it  gives  us  an  oppor- 
tunity of  more  extensive  usefulness. 

Finally,  since  we  were  not  the  authors  of  our  lives,  we  can  have  no 
right  to  take  them  away.  We  have  no  power  to  determine,  either  the 
time  or  kind  of  death,  any  more  than  we  can  ward  off,  or  suspend  its 
blow  when  commissioned  to  destroy.  Therefore,  amidst  all  the  mise- 
ries that  can  make  life  itself  an  insupportable  burden,  and  all  the 
glorious  prospects  that  can  make  us  impatiently  pant  for  dissolution, 
it  must  be  our  determinate  purpose,  that  "  all  the  days  of  our  ap- 
pointed time,  we  will  wait  till  our  change  come."  Job  xiv.  14. 

As  these  particulars,  examined  by  the  strictest  reason,  will  all  ap- 
pear to  be  immediate  consequences  from  self-evident  principles,  and 
must  all  be  confessed  by  him,  who  acknowledges  that  "  he  is  not  his 
own  lord  and  master ;"  it  will  follow  as  an  evident  truth,  that  the 
evangelical  duty  of  self-denial  is  founded  on  the  everlasting  reason  of 
things. 

Reflecting  farther  on  the  preceding  observations,  they  force  upon  us 
the  disagreeable  conviction,  that  our  whole  race  has  revolted  from 
God,  and  risen  up  in  rebellion  against  him.  "  The  world  evidently 
lies  in  wickedness ;"  for  the  allowed  practice  of  men  supposes  princi- 


ON    THE    DEATH    OF    MR.    DAVIES. 


35 


pies,  which,  they  themselves  being  judges,  must  confess  to  be  palpably 
false  and  absurd.  They  act  as  if  they  believed  they  were  made  for 
themselves,  and  had  no  other  business  in  life  but  the  gratification  of 
their  respective  humours.  One  exerts  all  his  powers,  and  spends  all 
his  time  in  nothing  else  but  endeavouring  to  amass  heaps  of  worldly 
treasure  :  another,  by  riotous  living,  disperses  what  had  been  collected 
with  anxious  care  and  assiduous  labour.  Some  live  in  malice  and 
envy,  whose  favourite  employ  is  calumny  and  wrathful  contentions,  as 
if  they  had  been  created  for  no  other  end  but  to  be  the  pests  of  so- 
ciety :  others  blaspheme  the  name  of  God,  despise  his  authority,  mock 
at  religion,  and  ridicule  serious  persons  and  things.  One  has  no  other 
purpose  in  life  but  sport  and  merriment :  another  eats  to  gluttony,  and 
drinks  to  besottedness.  Yet  all  these,  and  nameless  ranks  of  other 
daring  offenders,  would  be  ashamed  in  a  Christian  country  to  profess 
it  as  their  serious  belief,  that  they  were  made  by  a  most  wise,  holy, 
and  righteous  God,  preserved,  blessed,  and  loaded  with  benefits  every 
day,  on  purpose  that  they  "  might  work  all  these  abominations,"  or,  in 
order  to  live  just  as  they  do. 

If,  then,  it  is  confessedly  impious  and  unreasonable  to  live  to  our- 
selves, it  necessarily  follows  that  we  are  the  property  of  another,  for  it 
will  ever  be  "  lawful  for  one  to  do  what  he  will  with  his  own."  And 
whose  can  we  be  but  his  who  gave  us  existence  ?  Or,  if  ties  of  grati- 
tude can  more  powerfully  influence  ingenuous  minds  than  even  those 
of  nature,  who  can  so  justly  claim  us  as  he,  who,  as  we  hope,  "  loved 
us  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood  ?"  Rev.  i.  5.  This 
leads  me  to  observe, 

II.  That  we  should  "  live  and  die  to  the  Lord."  This  can  admit 
of  no  debate ;  for  if  our  Maker  and  Redeemer  be  our  rightful  owner, 
then  whatever  we  are,  or  have,  or  can  do,  must  be  for  him.  Being 
his  servants,  we  must  "  shew  all  good  fidelity"  in  his  business.  The 
talents  with  which  he  has  entrusted  us,  more  or  fewer,  or  of  whatever 
kind,  may  not  be  returned  without  improvement ;  for,  as  is  fit  and 
proper,  he  "  receives  his  own  with  usury."  Matt.  xxv.  27.  He  is  our 
King,  whose  prerogative  it  is  to  direct  our  course  of  action,  and  pro- 
pose the  end  at  which  we  are  to  aim  ;  to  "  mete  out  the  bounds  of  our 
habitation,"  and  carve  our  portion  ;  and  it  becomes  us  to  give  the  most 
ready  and  cheerful  obedience  to  his  commands,  and  submit  to  all  his 
disposals. 


36  A    FUNERAL    SERMON 

Our  living  thus  to  the  Lord  plainly  supposes  our  being  sensible  of 
our  entire  dependence  on  him,  and  that  we  devote  ourselves  to  his 
service.  We  must  "  present  our  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,"  Rom.  xii.  1, 
without  reserve  or  hesitation  ;  and  "  avouch  the  Lord  to  be  our  God, 
to  walk  in  his  ways,  and  to  keep  his  statutes,  and  his  commandments, 
and  his  judgments,  and  to  hearken  to  his  voice."  Deut.  xxvi.  17. 
We  bind  ourselves  to  him  in  a  firm  covenant,  not  for  a  limited  term  of 
months  and  years,  but  for  ever  and  ever,  and  acquiesce  in  Him  as  our 
chief  good. 

The  solemnity  of  such  an  infinitely  important  transaction  between 
the  glorious  majesty  of  heaven,  and  such  mean  creatures  as  we,  who 
are  "  but  dust  and  ashes,"  cannot  but  strike  us  with  reverential  awe. 
And  what  will  make  it  yet  more  humbling  is  the  consideration  of  our 
guilt.  We  not  only  as  creatures  take  upon  us  to  speak  unto  the  Lord 
our  Maker,  but  as  criminals  approach  to  the  seat  of  our  offended  and 
most  righteous  Judge.  Dare  we  then  trifle,  and  not  rather  be  most 
serious  and  deliberate  ?  Reflecting  that  we  are  in  the  presence  of 
the  heart-searching  God  will  naturally  make  us  watchful  over  every 
thought  and  motion  of  our  spirits,  and  engage  us  to  the  greatest  sin- 
cerity in  surrendering  to  him  our  all.  We  will  give  him  our  hearts 
themselves  ;  keep  nothing  back  ;  nor  except  against  any  terms  he  shall 
please  to  propose,  but  yield  at  discretion. 

On  this  occasion  a  consciousness  of  our  having  revolted  from  him, 
neglected  his  service,  purloined  his  goods,  and,  in  every  respect,  be- 
haved most  ungratefully  and  undutifully,  will  affect  us  with  the  most 
genuine  sorrow.  Therefore,  when,  repentant  we  return  to  him,  we 
shall,  covered  with  shame,  approach  with  the  Prodigal's  self-abasing 
confession,  "  Father !  I  have  sinned  against  heaven,  and  before  thee, 
and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son."  Luke  xv.  18,  19.  He 
will  "  surely  hear  us  bemoaning  ourselves,  like  Ephraim,"  that  we  have 
too  long  wrought  the  will  of  the  flesh,  and  suffered  other  usurping 
lords  to  have  dominion  over  us  ;  but  now  we  humbly  beg  forgiveness, 
his  gracious  acceptance  of  our  persons,  and  admission  into  his  family, 
should  it  be  only  on  trial,  "  as  hired  servants." 

But  though  our  sins  have  made  us  vile,  and  the  view  of  their  odious 
nature  makes  us  "  loathe  ourselves  in  our  own  sight,"  yet  a  conviction 
of  the  free  grace  and  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  will  comfort  and  en- 
courage our  dejected  and  diffident  hearts.  The  cords  of  love  will 


ON    THE    DEATH    OF    MR.    DAVIES.  37 

draw  us  nearer  and  nearer,  until  we  shall  assume  an  humble  "boldness, 
to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus."  Heb.  x.  19.  Sacred  love, 
and  a  grateful  sense  of  the  unmerited  favours  of  our  God  will  now 
dispose  us  to,  and  animate  us  in  the  performance  of  every  duty.  Re- 
ligion will  be  our  chosen  course,  and  the  commandments  of  God  will 
be  so  far  from  being  burdensome  to  us,  that  we  shall  rejoice  in  them, 
and  delight  in  doing  the  things  that  please  him.  Our  whole  time 
will  be  consecrated  to  his  service  :  no  part  of  it  can  be  spared  for 
fleshly  indulgences,  or  sinful  pleasures,  but  will  be  employed  either  in 
some  positive  duty,  or  in  preparation  for  it  in  the  proper  season. 

This  religious  bent  of  mind  will  manifest  itself  in  all  our  conduct,  and 
give  even  common  actions  a  different  direction.  If  we  attend  our  or- 
dinary callings,  we  shall  be  active  and  diligent,  not  in  order  to  gratify 
an  earthly  temper,  but  from  an  obediential  regard  to  supreme  authority. 
When  our  spirits  flag  through  intense  application  to  business,  and  re- 
creation becomes  necessary,  our  very  diversions  will  be  considered  as 
our  duty,  and  so  as  a  branch  of  our  religion  :  and  as  they  will  always  be 
innocent  in  their  nature,  so  they  will  be  no  otherwise  regarded  than 
as  means  to  fit  us  for  the  repetition  of  our  work.  If  our  friends  or 
country  demand  our  service,  we  shall  not  give  way  to  selfishness  and 
indolence,  but,  as  lovers  of  God  and  men,  generously  exert  ourselves 
for  the  common  good.  Thus  will  our  whole  life  be  religion,  upon  such 
a  sincere,  entire,  and  affectionate  dedication  of  ourselves  to  the  Lord. 
And  such  as  is  our  course  so  will  be  its  end.  When  the  date  of  time 
is  concluded  we  shall  also  "  die  to  the  Lord."  This  in  general  imports 
our  living  under  the  rational,  affecting  impression  of  our  dissolution, 
and  appearing  before  God,  and  our  constant  endeavours  after  actual 
preparation  to  enjoy  him  for  ever.  Then,  upon  the  approach  of  death, 
we  shall  confidently  "  commit  our  spirits  into  his  hands,"  recommend 
his  ways  to  survivors,  and  glorify  him  with  our  dying  breath. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  our  lives  are  not  thus  consecrated  to  our 
God,  we  cannot  be  supposed  to  perform  any  duty  in  an  acceptable 
manner,  as  the  requisite  principle  and  end  are  wanting.  He,  to  whom 
the  secret  springs  of  action  are  all  obvious,  will  not,  cannot  accept 
pretended  services  ;  nor  be  pleased  with  the  "  blind  and  the  lame  for 
sacrifice,"  when  the  best  are  esteemed  too  good  for  him.  To  compli- 
ment him  with  our  lips,  when  we  refuse  to  give  him  our  hearts,  will 
be  judged  similar  to  the  conduct  of  those,  who  "  bowed  the  knee  in 


38  A    FUNERAL    SERMON 

derision,"  and  in  derision  said,  "  Hail !  King  of  the  Jews !"  He, 
"  with  whom  we  have  to  do,"  cannot  be  deceived,  nor  will  be  mocked. 
He  requires  "  Truth  in  the  inward  parts,"  which  cannot  subsist  with- 
out an  honest  and  upright  design  to  serve  him  all  the  days  of  our 
lives. 

Now  to  live  wholly  to  the  Lord,  will  appear  to  be  our  reasonable 
service,  if  we  consider, 

1.  That  "  such  a  life  is  most  worthy  of  rational   and   immortal 
creatures."      From  the    powers  and   faculties  given  us  it  may  na- 
turally  be  concluded  that  we   are  created  for  some  very  important 
purpose ;  but  what   can   be   so  important,  or  bear  so  just  a  corres- 
pondence to  our  capacities,  as  to  live  to  the  glory  of  our  great  Creator? 
This  being  our  ultimate  end,  to  which  we  refer  all  our  actions,  and 
perform  each  of  them  in  such  a  manner  as  may  best  answer  it,  will 
influence  our  hearts,  and  frame  our  whole  conversation  agreeable  to 
the  divine  approving  will.     And  what  can  so  ennoble  the  soul  as  con- 
formity to  the  pattern  of  perfection  ?     But  to  neglect  this,  and  chiefly 
regard  our  temporal  affairs,  would   be   infinitely  unworthy  of  beings 
capable  of  the  highest  pursuits,  and   formed   for  immortality.     Why 
should  we  have  been  "  wiser  than  the  beasts  of  the  field,  or  the  fowls 
of  heaven,"  if  we  are  to  have  no  sublimer  aims  than  they?     In  a  word, 
we  could  never  vindicate  the  wisdom  of  God  in  our  formation,  if  he 
intended  us  for  meaner  things   than  those  for  which  we  are  qualified. 
Therefore, 

2.  Such  a  life  is  most  worthy  of  God  our  Maker.     Nothing  can 
appear  more  decent  and  proper,  than  that  he  who  is  the  beginning, 
should  also  be  the  end ;  that  as  all   are  of  him,  all  should  be  to  him. 
And  if  his  glory  be  the  most  excellent  thing,  and  he  the  most  perfect 
being,  it  will  necessarily  follow,  that  he  cannot  ultimately  design  what 
is  less  excellent.     Therefore  the  Scripture  speaks  agreeable  to  ever- 
lasting truth,  when   it  asserts,  that,  "  he    made  all    things ;"   and, 
that  "for  his   pleasure    they  are,  and  were   created."    Rev.  iv.  11. 
And  can  it  be  rationally  supposed,  that  he  allows  us,  whom  he  made 
for  his  own  glory,  to  act  for  a  different  or  opposite  end  ?     It  cannot. 
We  must  therefore  peremptorily  affirm,  that  he  cannot,  in  consistency 
with  his  perfections,  require  less,  than  that  "  whether  we  eat  or  drink, 
or  whatsoever  we  do,  we  should  do  all  to  his  glory."  1  Cor.  x.  31.     And 
this  he  does  require,  not  because  he  needs  our  service,  or  can  be 


ON    THE    DEATH    OF    MR.    DAVIES.  39 

happier,  or  more  glorious  in  himself  by  our  praises,  but  because  it 
is  fit  and  right,  and  results  as  our  duty  from  the  eternal  reason  of 
things. 

3.  Such  a  life  is  our  own  happiness  :  for,  acting  as  prescribed,  we 
move  in  our  proper  sphere,  and  tend  to  our  native  centre.  We  live 
as  near  the  fountain  of  blessedness  as  our  present  state  can  admit,  and 
nothing  can  be  so  animating  as  the  glorious  and  blissful  prospects  our 
course  affords.  Our  hearts,  being  fixed  on  the  chief  good,  are  at  rest, 
and  no  more  tortured  with  anxious  hesitation,  and  uneasy  suspense, 
as  to  what  we  shall  choose  for  our  portion,  nor  do  our  desires  wander 
in  quest  of  a  more  suitable  object.  We  can  wish  for  no  more  but  the 
full  enjoyment  of  God,  whom  we  "serve  with  our  spirits;"  whose 
"  peace,  that  passeth  all  understanding,  rules  in  our  hearts ;"  and 
for  whose  glory  we  hope,  secure  from  confounding  disappointment  in 
the  day  of  our  Lord. 

Now  methinks  every  attentive  hearer  prevents  my  improvement  of 
the  subject,  being  ready,  of  his  own  accord  to  make  such  reflections 
as  these.  How  serene  and  placid  is  the  life,  and  how  triumphant 
must  be  the  death,  of  a  true  Christian !  How  reasonable  a  service  do 
we  perform,  when  we  consecrate  ourselves  to  the  Lord,  and  receive 
him,  freely  offering  himself  to  be  our  portion,  our  father,  and  our 
friend!  None  can  plausibly  urge,  that  some  things  unfit,  or  detri- 
mental, are  required.  None  can  pretend  a  conscientious  scruple  about 
complying  with  the  proposal,  nor  dare  any,  however  secretly  reluctant, 
openly  avow  their  dissent.  Every  mouth  is  stopped,  and  all  acknow- 
ledge their  obligation  to  this  plain  duty.  What  then  should  hinder 
the  unanimous  agreement,  of  this  whole  assembly  to  so  advantageous 
an  overture  ?  Why  may  we  not  join  ourselves,  this  day,  to  the  Lord 
in  an  everlasting  covenant  ?  Would  it  not  seem  uncharitable  to  sup- 
pose, that  any  one  in  this  Christian  audience  rejects  a  proposal  so  in- 
finitely just  and  kind  ?  How  pleasing  is  the  very  imagination  of  an 
universal  concurrence  !  Not  only  would  each  of  our  hearts  who  are 
here  present  exult,  but  unnumbered  hosts  of  angels,  and  all  "  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect"  would  rejoice. 

Since  therefore  all  things  that  pertain  to  our  present  or  future  hap- 
piness, conspire  to  urge  this  point,  let  us  with  one  accord,  in  the  most 
affectionate  and  reverent  manner,  approach  the  throne  of  our  august 
Sovereign,  and  cheerfully  resign  ourselves  to  him  for  ever;  spend  our 


40  A    FUNERAL    SERMON 

lives  in  his  service,  and  expect  his  compensating  approbation  at  our 
end. 

In  some  such  strain,  but  more  diffusive  and  sublime,  would  our 
reverend  and  dear  deceased  friend  have  addressed  us  on  such  a  sub- 
ject. We  may  imagine  how  fervent  his  desire  was  of  "  living  to  the 
Lord"  himself,  and  persuading  others  to  the  same  course,  when  he 
fixed  on  this  for  the  subject  of  his  funeral  sermon.  Now,  as  it  is 
generally  agreed  that  example  has  the  most  powerful  influence,  per- 
haps a  few  sketches  of  his  own  life  and  character  may  best  recom- 
mend the  preceding  discourse,  as  they  will  prove  the  life  described 
to  be  practicable.  And  though  he  on  whom  this  talk  is  devolved  owns 
himself  inferior  to  it,  yet  he  is  encouraged  to  undertake  it,  from  a  per- 
suasion that  a  simple  and  unornamented  narrative  of  what  he  knows, 
either  personally  or  by  certain  information,  concerning  President  Da- 
vies,  will  set  him  in  a  very  agreeable  point  of  light.  He  is  now  dis- 
interested in  all  the  praises  and  censures  of  mortals,  and  can  neither 
receive  benefit,  or  suffer  detriment  by  them  ;  but  his  example  may 
profit  the  living,  as  it  tends  to  excite  a  laudable  emulation  ;  and  some 
brief  hints  of  the  dispensations  of  divine  providence  towards  him  may 
not  be  without  very  useful  instruction. 

He  was  an  only  son,  and,  which  is  more,  was  a  son  of  prayers  and 
vows ;  was  given  in  answer  to  fervent  supplications,  and,  in  gratitude, 
wholly  devoted  to  God  from  the  womb  by  his  eminently  pious  mother, 
and  named  Samuel,  on  the  like  occasion  as  the  ancient  Prophet.* 
The  event  proved,  that  God  accepted  the  consecrated  boy,  took  him 
under  his  special  care,  furnished  him  for,  and  employed  him  in  the 
service  of  his  church,  prospered  his  labours  with  remarkable  success, 
and  not  only  blessed  him,  but  made  him  a  blessing. 

The  first  twelve  years  of  his  life  were  wasted  in  the  most  entire  ne- 
gligence of  God  and  religion,  which  he  often  afterwards  bitterly  la- 
mented, as  having  too  "  long  wrought  the  will  of  the  flesh."  But 

*The  attachment  always  existing  between  Davies  and  his  mother  was  a 
remarkably  strong  and  holy  one. 

When  his  body  was  in  the  coffin,  she  gazed  on  it  attentively  and  then 
exclaimed,  "  There  is  the  son  of  my  prayers  and  my  hopes,  my  only  son, 
my  only  earthly  supporter,  but  there  is  the  will  of  God,  and  I  am  satisfied  !" 

[EDITOR  OF  THE  BOARD.] 


ON    THE    DEATH    OF    MR.    DAVIES.  41 

about  that  time  the  God  to  whom  he  was  dedicated  by  his  word  and 
Spirit  awakened  him  to  solemn  thoughtfulness  and  anxious  concern 
about  his  eternal  state.  He  then  saw  sufficient  reason  to  dread  all  the 
direful  effects  of  divine  displeasure  against  sin.  And  so  deeply  im- 
printed was  the  rational  sense  of  his  danger,  as  to  make  him  habitually 
uneasy  and  restless,  until  he  might  obtain  satisfying  scriptural  evi- 
dence of  his  interest  in  the  forgiving  love  of  God. 

While  thus  exercised,  he  clearly  saw  the  absolute  necessity  and 
certain  reality  of  the  gospel  plan  of  salvation,  and  what  abundant  and 
suitable  provision  it  makes  for  all  the  wants  of  a  sinner.  No  other 
solid  ground  of  hope,  or  unfailing  source  of  comfort  could  he  find,  be- 
sides the  merits  and  righteousness  of  him,  "  whom  God  hath  set  forth 
to  be  a  propitiation  for  sin,  through  faith  in  his  blood."  Rom.  iii. 
25.  On  this  righteousness  he  was  enabled  confidently  to  depend; 
by  this  blood  his  conscience  was  purged  from  guilt ;  and  "  be- 
lieving, he  rejoiced  with  joy  unspeakable,  and  full  of  glory."  1 
Pet.  i.  8.  Yet  he  was  afterwards  exercised  with  many  perplexing 
doubts  for  a  long  season,  but  at  length,  after  years  of  impartial  re- 
peated self-examination,  he  attained  to  a  settled  confidence  of  his  in- 
terest in  redeeming  grace,  which  he  retained  to  the  end. 

A  diary,  which  he  kept  in  the  first  years  of  his  religious  life,  and 
continued  to  keep  as  long  as  his  leisure  would  permit,  clearly  shows 
how  intensely  his  mind  was  set  on  heavenly  things ;  how  observant  he 
was  of  the  temper  of  his  heart ;  and  how  watchful  over  all  his 
thoughts,  words  and  actions.  Did  any  censure  his  foibles,  or  juvenile 
indiscretions  ?  They  would  hare  done  it  compassionately,  had  they 
known  how  severely  he  censured  them  himself.  The  tribunal  daily 
erected  in  his  own  bosom  was  more  critical  in  scrutinizing,  and  more 
impartial  and  severe  in  passing  sentence,  than  either  his  friends  or 
enemies  could  be. 

His  love  to  God,  and  tender  concern  for  perishing  sinners,  excited 
his  eager  desire  of  being  in  a  situation  to  serve  mankind  to  the  best 
advantage.  With  this  view  he  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  learning,  in 
which,  amidst  many  obvious  inconveniences,  he  made  surprising  pro- 
gress, and,  sooner  than  could  have  been  expected,  was  found  compe- 
tently qualified  for  the  ministerial  office.  He  passed  the  usual  pre- 
vious trials  with  uncommon  approbation  ;  having  exceeded  the  raised 
expectations  of  his  most  intimate  friends  and  admirers. 
VOL.  I.— 6 


42  A    FUNERAL    SERMON 

When  he  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel,  he  zealously  declared 
the  counsel  of  God,  the  truth  and  importance  of  which  he  knew  by 
happy  experience ;  and  did  it  in  such  a  manner  as  excited  the  earnest 
desires  of  every  vacant  congregation,  where  he  was  known,  to  obtain 
the  happiness  of  his  stated  ministrations.  But,  far  from  gratifying 
his  natural  inclination  to  the  society  of  his  friends,  or  consulting 
his  ease,  moved  by  conscience  of  duty,  he  undertook  the  self-denying 
charge  of  a  dissenting  congregation  in  Virginia,  separated  from  all  his 
brethren,  and  exposed  to  the  censure  and  resentment  of  many.  But 
the  more  he  was  known  in  those  parts,  the  more  were  prejudices  re- 
moved ;  contempt  was  gradually  turned  into  reverence ;  the  number 
of  his  enemies  daily  diminished,  and  his  friends  increased. 

Nor  did  he  there  labour  in  vain,  or  "  spend  his  strength  for  nought." 
The  "  Lord,  who  counted  him  faithful,  putting  him  into  the  ministry," 
succeeded  his  faithful  endeavours,  so  that  a  great  number,  both  of 
whites  and  blacks,  were  hopefully  converted  to  the  living  God ;  for 
the  proof  of  this,  I  must  refer  you  to  his  own  narrative,  sent  to  the 
Kev.  Mr.  Bellamy,  and  by  him  published,  and  to  his  letters  to  some 
gentlemen  of  the  Society  in  London,  for  propagating  religion  among 
the  poor. 

As  to  his  natural  genius,  it  was  strong  and  masculine.  His  under- 
standing was  clear;  his  memory  retentive ;  his  invention  quick;  his 
imagination  lively  and  florid  ;  his  thoughts  sublime  ;  and  his  language 
elegant,  strong,  and  expressive.*  And  I  cannot  but  presume  that  true 
and  candid  critics  will  readily  discern  a  great  degree  of  true  poetic 
fire,  style,  and  imagery,  in  his  poetical  compositions ;  and  will  grant 
that  he  was  capable  to  have  shone  in  that  way,  had  his  leisure  permit- 
ted the  due  cultivation  of  his  natural  talent. 

His  appearance  in  company  was  manly  and  graceful ;  his  behaviour 
genteel,  not  ceremonious;  grave,  yet  pleasant;  and  solid,  but  sprightly 
too.  In  a  word,  he  was  an  open,  conversable,  and  entertaining  com- 
panion, a  polite  gentleman,  and  devout  Christian,  at  once. 

*  But  with  all  his  genius,  Mr.  Davies  dreaded  to  preach  without  careful 
preparation.  He  declared  that  every  discourse  of  his  which  he  thought 
worthy  of  the  name  of  a  sermon,  cost  him  four  days  of  hard  study  in  its 
preparation.  When  on  one  occasion  urged  to  preach  extemporaneously,  he 
replied,  "  It  is  a  dreadful  thing  to  talk  nonsense  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

[EDITOB  OF  THE  BOARD.] 


OX    THE   DEATH    OF    MR.    DAVIES.  43 

In  the  sacred  desk,  zeal  for  God,  and  love  to  men,  animated  his 
addresses,  and  made  them  tender,  solemn,  pungent,  and  persuasive ; 
while  at  the  same  time  they  were  ingenious,  accurate,  and  oratorial. 
A  certain  dignity  of  sentiment  and  style,  a  venerable  presence,  a 
commanding  voice,  and  emphatical  delivery,  concurred  both  to  charm 
his  audience,  and  overawe  them  into  silence  and  attention. 

Nor  was  his  influence  confined  to  the  pulpit.  His  comprehensive 
mind  could  take  under  view  the  grand  interests  of  his  country  and  of 
religion  at  once  ;  and  these  interests,  as  well  as  those  of  his  friends, 
he  was  ever  ready  zealously  to  serve.  It  is  known  what  an  active  in- 
strument he  was  in  stirring  up  a  patriot  spirit,  a  spirit  of  courage  and 
resolution  in  Virginia,  where  he  resided  during  the  late  barbarous 
French  and  Indian  ravages. 

His  natural  temper  was  remarkably  sweet  and  dispassionate  ;*  and 
his  heart  was  one  of  the  tenderest  towards  the  distressed.  His  sym- 
pathetic soul  could  say,  "  Who  is  weak,  and  I  am  not  weak  ?"  Ac- 
cordingly his  charitable  disposition  made  him  liberal  to  the  poor,  and 
that  often  beyond  his  ability.  He  was  eminently  obliging  to  all,  and 
very  sensible  of  favours  conferred ;  which  he  could  receive  without 
servility,  and  manifest  his  grateful  sense  of  them  with  proper  dignity. 

To  his  friend  he  was  voluntarily  transparent,  and  fully  acted  up  to 
the  poet's  advice  : 

Thy  friend  put  in  thy  bosom :  wear  his  eyes 
Still  in  thy  heart,  that  he  may  see  what's  there. 

And  perhaps  none  better  understood  the  ingenuities  and  delicacies  of 
friendship,  or  had  a  higher  relish  for  it,  or  was  truer  or  more  con- 
stant in  it,  than  he.  He  was  not  easily  disgusted  :  his  knowledge  of 
human  nature  in  its  present  state,  his  candid  heart,  and  enlarged  soul, 
both  disposing  and  enabling  him  to  make  allowances  for  indiscretions, 
which  narrower  and  more  selfish  minds  could  not  make.  He  readily 
and  easily  forgave  ofiences  against  himself,  whilst  none  could  be  more 

*  The  Kev.  Dr.  John  Kodgers,  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends,  in  a  let- 
ter to  me  since  his  death,  says,  "  I  never  saw  him  angry  during  several 
years  of  unbounded  intimacy,  though  I  have  repeatedly  known  him  to  have 
been  ungenerously  treated." 


44  A    FUNERAL    SERMON 

careful  to  avoid  offending  others  ;  which,  if  he  at  any  time  inadvert- 
ently did,  he  was  forward  and  desirous  to  make  the  most  ample  satis- 
faction. 

He  was  amongst  the  first  and  brightest  examples  of  filial  piety,  a 
very  indulgent  parent,  and  humane  master.  As  a  husband  he  was 
kind,  tender,  cordial,  and  respectful,  with  a  fondness  that  was  manly 
and  genuine.  In  a  word,  think  what  might  rationally  be  expected,  in 
the  present  imperfect  state,  in  a  mature  man,  a  Christian  in  minority, 
a  minister  of  Jesus  of  like  passions  with  others,  in  a  gentleman,  com- 
panion, and  cordial  friend,  and  you  conceive  of  President  Davies. 

It  would  hardly  be  expected,  that  one  so  rigid  with  respect  to  his 
own  faith  and  practice,  could  be  so  generous  and  catholic  in  his  senti- 
ments to  those  who  differed  from  him  in  both,  as  he  was.  He  was 
strict,  not  bigoted ;  conscientious,  not  squeamishly  scrupulous.  His 
clear  and  extensive  knowledge  of  religion  enabled  him  to  discern 
where  the  main  stress  should  be  laid,  and  to  proportion  his  zeal  to  the 
importance  of  things,  too  generous  to  be  confined  to  the  intersts  of  a 
party  as  such.  He  considered  the  visible  kingdom  of  Christ  as  ex- 
tended beyond  the  boundaries  of  this  or  that  particular  denomination, 
and  never  supposed  that  His  declarative  glory  was  wholly  dependent 
on  the  religious  community  which  he  most  approved.  Hence  he 
gloried  more  in  being  a  Christian,  than  in  being  a  Presbyterian, 
though  he  was  the  latter  from  principle.  His  truly  catholic  address 
to  the  established  clergy  of  Virginia  is  a  demonstration  of  the  sincere 
pleasure  it  would  have  given  him,  to  have  heard  that  "  Christ  was 
preached,"  and  substantial  religion,  common  Christianity,  promoted  by 
those  who  "  walked  not  with  him,"  and  whom  he  judged  in  other 
points  to  be  mistaken.  His  benevolent  heart  could  not  be  so  soured, 
nor  his  enlarged  soul  so  contracted,  as  to  value  men  from  circum- 
stantial distinctions,  but  according  to  their  personal  worth. 

He  sought  truth  for  its  own  sake,  and  would  profess  his  sentiments 
with  the  undisguised  openness  of  an  honest  Christian,  and  the  inoffen- 
sive boldness  of  a  manly  spirit :  yet,  without  the  least  apparent  diffi- 
culty or  hesitation,  he  would  retract  an  opinion  on  full  conviction  of 
its  being  a  mistake.  I  have  never  known  one,  who  appeared  to  lay 
himself  more  fully  open  to  the  reception  of  truth,  from  whatever 
quarter  it  came,  than  he ;  for  he  judged  the  knowledge  of  truth  only, 
to  be  real  learning,  and  that  endeavouring  to  defend  an  error  was  but 


ON    THE   DEATH    OF    MR.    DAVIES.  45 

labouring  to  be  more  ignorant.  But,  until  fully  convinced,  he  was  be- 
comingly tenacious  of  his  opinion. 

The  unavoidable  consciousness  of  native  power  made  him  bold  and 
enterprising.  Yet  the  event  proved  that  his  boldness  arose  not  from 
a  partial,  groundless  self-conceit,  but  from  true  self-knowledge.  Upon 
fair  and  candid  trial,  faithful  and  just  to  himself,  he  judged  what  he 
could  do ;  and  what  he  could,  when  called  to  it,  he  attempted ;  and 
what  he  attempted,  he  accomplished. 

It  may  here  be  properly  observed,  that  he  was  chosen  by  the  Synod 
of  New  York,  at  the  instance  of  the  trustees  of  New  Jersey  College, 
as  a  fit  person  to  accompany  the  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent  to  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  in  order  to  solicit  benefactions  for  the  said  col- 
lege. As  this  manifested  the  high  opinion  which  both  the  Synod  and 
corporation  entertained  of  his  popular  talents  and  superior  abilities,  so 
his  ready  compliance  to  undertake  that  service,  hazardous  and  difficult 
in  itself,  and  precarious  in  its  consequences,  which  required  him  to 
overlook  his  domestic  connections,  however  tender  and  endearing, 
manifested  his  resolution  and  self-denial.  How  well  he  was  qualified 
as  a  solicitor,  is  witnessed  by  the  numerous  and  large  benefactions  he 
received.  His  services,  as  was  meet,  were  gratefully  accepted  by  his 
constituents ;  and  to  the  pious,  generous,  and  public-spirited  charity 
of  the  friends  of  religion  and  learning  in  Great  Britain,  received  on 
that  occasion,  does  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  in  a  great  degree,  owe 
its  present  flourishing  condition. 

As  his  light  shone,  his  ability  to  fill  the  president's  chair  in  this 
college,  then  vacant,  was  not  doubted  by  the  honourable  board  of  trus- 
tees. He  was  accordingly  chosen,  and  earnestly  invited  to  accept  the 
charge  of  this  society.  Yet  he  once  and  again  excused  himself,  not 
being  convinced  that  he  was  called  in  duty  to  leave  his  then  important 
province.  But  repeated  application  at  length  prevailed  to  make  him 
apprehend  that  it  was  the  will  of  God  he  should  accept  the  call ;  yet, 
lest  he  should  mistake  in  so  important  a  case,  he  withheld  his  express 
consent,  until  the  Reverend  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
gave  their  opinion  in  favour  of  the  college.  This  determined  his  du- 
bious mind.  He  came,  and  undertook  the  weighty  charge. 

And  what  were  the  consequences  ?  Had  his  incessant  labours  in 
travelling  and  preaching  the  Gospel,  his  disadvantageous  situation,  and 
want  of  opportunity  for  improvement  made  some  of  his  best  friends 


46  A    FUNERAL    SERMON 

diffident  of  his  capacity  and  acquirements  for  moving  with  honour  in 
this  unaccustomed  sphere?  He  agreeably  disappointed  their  friendly 
fears,  and  convinced  them  that  strength  of  genius,  joined  to  indus- 
trious application,  had  surmounted  all  other  disadvantages.  Had  any 
such  raised  expectations  as  seemed  hard  to  answer  ?  They  were  fully 
satisfied :  so  that  from  being  highly  approved  he  came  to  be  admired. 

His  manner  of  conducting  the  college  did  honour  to  himself,  and 
promoted  its  interests.  Whatever  alterations  in  the  plans  of  educa- 
tion he  introduced  were  confessedly  improvements  on  those  of  his  pre- 
decessors. Had  I  never  had  other  means  of  intelligence,  save  only 
my  knowledge  of  the  man,  I  should  naturally  have  expected  that  all 
his  public  appearances  would  have  been  conducted  with  spirit,  ele- 
gance, and  decorum ;  that  his  government  would  be  mild  and  gentle, 
tempered  with  wisdom  and  authority,  and  calculated  to  command  re- 
verence while  it  attracted  love,  and  that  his  manner  of  teaching  would 
be  agreeable  and  striking. 

But  I  propose  not  these  as  mere  conjectures.  The  learned  tutors 
of  the  college,  the  partners  of  his  counsels  and  deliberations  for  its 
good,  and  these  young  gentlemen,  once  his  care  and  charge,  who  judged 
themselves  happy  under  his  tuition,  all  know  more  than  I  shall  speak. 

You  know  the  tenderness  and  condescension  with  which  he  treated 
you ;  the  paternal  care  with  which  he  watched  over  you ;  the  reluc- 
tance with  which  he  at  any  time  inflicted  the  prescribed  punishment 
on  a  delinquent ;  and  how  pleased  he  was  to  succeed  in  reforming  any 
abuse  by  private  and  easy  methods.  You  felt  yourselves  voluntarily 
confined  by  the  restraints  of  love,  and  obliged  to  subjection,  not  from 
slavish  fear,  but  from  principle  and  inclination.  You  have  yet  fresh 
in  memory  his  instructive  lectures,  and  can  tell  with  what  ease  he 
communicated  his  sentiments,  and  impressed  his  ideas  on  your  minds, 
and  the  entertaining  manner  in  which  he  would  represent  even  a  com- 
mon thought. 

But  his  persuasive  voice  you  will  hear  no  more.  He  is  removed 
far  from  mortals,  has  taken  his  serial  flight,  and  left  us  to  lament,  that 
"  a  great  man  has  fallen  in  Israel !"  He  lived  much  in  a  little  time  ; 
"  he  finished  his  course,"  performed  sooner  than  many  others  his  as- 
signed task,  and,  in  that  view,  might  be  said  to  have  died  mature. 
He  shone  like  a  light  set  in  a  high  place,  that  burns  out  and  expires. 

He  went  through  every  stage  of  honour  and  usefulness,  compatible 


ON    THE    DEATH    OF    MR.    DALIES.  47 

i 

with  his  character  as  a  Dissenting  clergyman  :  and,  while  we  flattered 
our  fond  hopes  of  eminent  services  from  him  for  many  years  to  come, 
the  fatal  blow  was  struck ;  our  pleasing  prospects  are  all  at  an  end, 
and  he  is  cut  down  like  a  tree  that  had  yielded  much  fruit,  and  was 
loaded  with  blossoms  even  in  its  fall. 

This  dispensation,  how  mysterious!  how  astonishing!  nay,  how  dis- 
couraging does  it  seem !  Why  was  he  raised,  by  divine  Providence, 
in  the  prime  of  life,  to  so  important  a  station,  and,  amidst  useful  la- 
bours, whilst  he  was  fast  increasing  in  strength  adapted  to  his  busi- 
ness, quickly  snatched  away  ?  This  is  a  perplexing  case ;  and  the 
more  so  that  it  so  soon  succeeded  the  yet  shorter  continuance  of  the 
venerable  Edwards.  Were  they  set  in  so  conspicuous  a  point  of  view, 
only  that  their  imitable  excellencies  might  be  more  observable  ?  or, 
was  Nassau  Hall  erected  by  divine  Providence  for  this,  among  other 
important  purposes,  that  it  might  serve  to  adorn  the  latter  end  of  some 
eminent  servants  of  the  living  God,  itself  being  adorned  by  them  ? 
In  this  view,  the  short  presidency  of  a  Dickinson,  a  Burr,  an  Ed- 
wards, and  a  Davies,  instead  of  arguing  the  displeasure  of  the  Al- 
mighty, will  evidence  his  peculiar  favour  to  this  institution  ;  which  I 
know  was  planned,  and  has  been  carried  ou  with  the  most  pious,  be- 
nevolent, and  generous  designs.  These  designs  God's  goodness  has 
hitherto  amazingly  prospered  amidst  apparent  frowns ;  and,  if  we  may 
infer  anything  from  what  he  has  already  done,  it  is  an  encouraging  ex- 
pectation that  he  will  continue  to  bless  this  society,  and  make  it  an 
honour  and  happiness  to  this  venerable  Board  to  have  been  engaged 
in  so  noble  and  successful  an  undertaking. 

Now  one  more  shining  orb  is  set  on  our  world.  Davies  is  departed, 
and  with  him  all  that  love,  zeal,  activity,  and  benevolence,  for  which 
he  was  remarkable.  This  the  church,  and  this  the  bereaved  College 
mourns.  For  this  we  hang  our  once  cheerful  harps  and  indulge  in 
plaintive  strains.  Yet  we  are  not  to  lament  as  those  who  are  hopeless, 
but  rather  with  humble  confidence  to  "  pray  the  Lord  of  the  harvest," 
with  whom  is  "  the  residue  of  the  Spirit,"  that  he  would  send  forth 
another  Davies  to  assist  our  labour  and  forward  his  work. 

Nor  should  the  decease  of  useful  labourers,  the  extinction  of  burning 
and  shining  lights,  only  send  us  to  the  throne  of  grace  for  supplies, 
but  excite  us  to  greater  diligence  and  activity  in  our  business,  as  we 
have  for  the  present  the  more  to  do.  And,  instead  of  being  dispirited 


48  A    FUNERAL    SERMON. 

by  the  loss  of  such  eminent  assistants,  we  should  be  animated  by  their 
example,  and  hope  for  the  same  divine  aids  that  carried  them  through 
all  the  duties  and  dangers  of  life  with  safety,  success,  and  honour. 

Finally,  this  dispensation  should  lessen  our  esteem  of  this  transitory 
disappointing  world,  and  raise  our  affections  to  heaven,  that  place  and 
state  of  permanent  blessedness.  Thither  ascends,  as  to  its  native 
home,  all  the  goodness  that  departs  from  earth  ;  and  the  more  of  our 
pious  friends  go  to  glory,  so  many  more  secondary  motives  have 
we  to  excite  our  desires  of  "  departing  and  being  with  Christ ;  which 
is  far  better"  than  any  state  under  the  sun  :  for  there,  in  addition  to 
superior  felicity,  we  shall  "  come  to  the  general  assembly,  and  Church 
of  the  First-born  which  are  written  in  heaven, — and  to  the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect."  Heb.  xii.  23.  Amen. 


AN   APPENDIX. 


BY  ANOTHER  HAND. 


THE  following  facts,  drawn  up  by  a  gentleman,  who  was  Mr.  Davies' 
intimate  friend,  and  lived  in  the  same  town  with  him,  while  he  was 
President  of  the  College,  were  collected  partly  from  Mr.  Davies'  private 
papers,  and  partly  from  the  gentleman's  personal  knowledge,  and,  as 
they  illustrate  several  things  just  hinted  in  the  preceding  discourse, 
and  contain  some  anecdotes  not  before  mentioned,  may  be  properly 
subjoined  to  the  narrative  already  given. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  late  President  of  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  was  born  on  the  3rd  day  of  November,  A.  D.,  1724,  in  the 
county  of  Newcastle,  in  Delaware.  His  father  was  a  planter,  who 
lived  with  great  plainness  and  simplicity,  and  supported  the  character 
of  an  honest  and  pious  man  to  his  death ;  which  happened  about  two 
years  ago.  His  mother,  who  was  greatly  distinguished  for  her  emi- 
nent piety,  some  time  before  the  conception  of  this  favourite  only  son, 
earnestly  desired  such  a  blessing ;  and  as  she  then  had  only  borne  a 
daughter,  who  was  near  five  years  old,  she  had  special  occasion  for 
the  exercise  of  her  faith,  in  waiting  for  the  divine  answer  to  her  peti- 
tion. In  this  situation  she  took  example  from  the  mother  of  the 
prophet  Samuel,  and  vowed  a  vow  unto  the  Lord ;  that  if  he  would 
indeed  give  her  a  man  child,  she  would  devote  him  to  His  service  all 
the  days  of  his  life. 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  the  parents  received  this  child  as  from 
God,  and  that  the  mother  especially,  who  had  reason  to  look  upon  him 
VOL.  I.— 7  49 


50  APPENDIX. 

as  a  token  of  the  divine  favour,  and  an  express  answer  to  her  prayers, 
would,  with  the  greatest  tenderness,  begin  the  rearing  of  this  beloved 
plant.  As  there  was  no  school  in  the  neighbourhood,  she  herself 
taught  him  to  read ;  and,  although  he  was  very  young,  he  is  said  to 
have  made  such  proficiency  as  surprised  every  person  who  heard  it. 

He  continued  at  home  with  his  parents  till  he  was  about  ten  years  old ; 
during  which  time  he  appears  to  have  had  no  remarkable  impressions 
of  a  religious  kind ;  but  behaving  himself  as  is  common  for  a  sprightly, 
towardly  child,  under  the  influence  of  pious  example  and  instruction. 
He  was  then  sent  to  an  English  school,  at  some  distance  from  his  fa- 
ther's, where  he  continued  two  years,  and  made  great  progress  in  his 
learning ;  but,  for  want  of  the  pious  instruction  with  which  he  was 
favoured  at  home,  he  grew  somewhat  more  careless  of  the  things  of 
religion. 

It  appears,  that  about  this  time  of  life,  careless  as  he  was,  he  made 
a  practice  of  secret  prayer,  especially  in  the  evening.  The  reasons 
(as  he  tells  in  his  diary)  why  he  was  so  punctual  in  the  evening 
was,  that  "  he  feared  lest  he  should  perhaps  die  before  morning." 
What  is  farther  observable  in  his  prayers  at  this  time  is,  that  "  he  was 
more  ardent  in  his  supplications  for  being  introduced  into  the  gospel 
ministry,  than  for  any  other  thing." 

[It  is  here  presumed  that  Dr.  Finley's  sermon,  preached  on  occa- 
sion of  his  death,  by  desire  of  the  trustees,  contains  sufficient  memo- 
rials of  his  life,  from  the  time  in  which  it  pleased  God  more  deeply 
to  impress  his  mind  with  the  important  realities  of  another  world, 
until  he  was  elected  President  of  the  College.] 

It  may  perhaps  not  be  amiss  to  mention  that  when  he  returned 
home  from  his  voyage  to  Great  Britain,  he  entered  again  on  his  la- 
borious and  beloved  task  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  his  several  con- 
gregations; and  continued  in  this  work  until  the  year  1759,  when  he 
was  elected  President  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  in  the  room  of 
the  Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards.  The  College,  before  he  came,  had  been 
in  an  unhappy  situation ;  partly  owing  to  the  length  of  that  melan- 
choly period  between  the  death  of  President  Burr  and  his  accession, 
and  partly  to  the  evil  dispositions  and  practices  of  a  few  members  of 
the  society.  President  Burr  died  in  September,  1757  ;  and  although 
Mr.  Edwards  was  elected  a  few  days  after,  he  did  not  take  upon  him- 
self the  government  of  the  College  till  February,  1758  ;  and  about  a 


APPENDIX. 

fortnight  after  took  the  small-pox,  of 

ing.     Mr.  Davies  was  not  initiated 

July,  1759.     So  that  the  College  l 

of  a  bereaved  condition  for  almost 

sures  taken  by  President  Davies  soon  si 

so  that  in  a  few  months  a  spirit  of  eniulatre^^Qfiamg  and  morality, 

as  had  been  usual,  evidently  characterized  the  students   of  Nassau 

Hall. 

While  he  continued  president  his  labours  were  great,  and  his  ap- 
plication to  study  was  necessarily  more  intense  than  that  of  his  pre- 
decessors. For  he  came  to  this  seat  of  the  Muses,  when  its  learning, 
by  the  eminent  abilities  of  President  Burr,  was  advanced  to  a  very 
considerable  degree ;  and  he  had  just  emerged  from  a  sea  of  minis- 
terial labour  in  various  places,  wherein  a  common  genius  would  have 
been  able  to  have  made  but  little  improvement  in  academical  learning. 
Besides,  the  speedy  passage  he  made  through  the  course  of  his  studies, 
previous  to  his  entering  into  the  ministry,  made  his  after  application 
the  more  necessary  for  so  important  and  elevated  a  situation.  He  was 
determined  not  to  degrade  his  office,  but  to  be  in  reality  what  his  sta- 
tion supposed  him,  and  accordingly  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost. 
The  labours  of  the  day  seemed  to  him  rather  an  incentive  to  study 
than  to  rest  in  the  night ;  for  he  commonly  sat  up  till  twelve  o'clock, 
and  often  later,  although  he  rose  by  break  of  day.  The  success  was 
proportionable ;  for  by  the  mighty  efforts  of  his  great  genius,  and  by 
dint  of  industry,  he  left  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  at  his  death,  in 
as  high  a  state  of  literary  merit  as  it  ever  had  been  in  since  its  first 
institution. 

It  is  a  piece  of  justice  due  to  his  memory  to  remark,  that  the  few 
innovations  he  made  in  the  academical  exercises,  were  certainly  im- 
provements upon  the  plan  of  his  predecessors.  Among  other  things 
the  monthly  orations  he  instituted  deserve  particular  notice.  In  or- 
der to  give  his  pupils  a  taste  for  composition,  and  to  form  them  for 
public  speaking,  he  directed  the  members  of  the  senior  class  each  to 
choose  his  subject,  and  compose  a  popular  harangue  to  be  delivered 
publicly  in  the  College  Hall  before  the  masters  and  students,  and  as 
many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  as  chose  to  attend.  When  each 
had  written  his  discourse,  he  brought  it  to  the  president,  who  made 
such  observations  and  corrections  as  he  judged  proper ;  and,  after 


52  APPENDIX. 

their  discourses  were  spoken,  they  severally  attended  him  again  for 
his  remarks  on  their  delivery.  About  six  of  the  young  gentlemen 
usually  delivered  their  orations  in  the  afternoon  of  the  first  Wednesday 
in  every  month,  to  crowded  audiences ;  and  it  is  hard  to  say,  whether 
the  entertainment  of  the  hearers,  or  the  improvement  of  the  students, 
was  the  greater. 

There  is  reason  to  believe,  that  the  intense  application  with  which 
Mr.  Davies  attended  to  the  duties  of  his  office  was  one  great  cause  of 
his  death.  The  habit  of  his  body  was  plethoric :  and  it  is  not  to  be 
doubted  but  that  his  health  for  some  years  had  very  much  depended 
upon  the  exercise  of  riding,  to  which  he  was  necessarily  obliged  while 
he  lived  in  Virginia,  though  even  then  he  had  several  severe  fevers, 
supposed  to  arise  principally  from  his  application  to  study  in  the  in- 
tervals of  riding  abroad.  When  he  came  to  the  College  he  scarcely 
used  any  bodily  exercise,  save  what  was  required  in  going  from  his 
own  house  to  Nassau  Hall,  which  is  a  space  about  ten  rods,  five  or  six 
times  a  day. 

In  the  latter  end  of  January,  A.  D.  1761,  a  bad  cold  seized  him, 
and  for  his  relief  he  was  bled.  The  same  day  he  transcribed  for  the 
press  the  sermon,  which  was  soon  after  published,  on  the  death  of  the 
late  King,  and  the  day  after  preached  twice  in  the  College  Hall ;  by 
all  which  the  arm,  in  which  he  was  bled,  became  much  inflamed,  and 
increased  his  former  indisposition.  On  the  Monday  morning  after,  at 
breakfast,  he  was  seized  with  a  violent  chilly  fit,  which  was  succeeded 
by  an  inflammatory  fever,  and  in  ten  days  brought  on  the  period  of 
his  important  life. 

Although  premonitions  of  death  in  the  present  state  of  the  world 
are  seldom,  if  ever,  given  to  mankind ;  and  they  who  are  disposed  to 
interpret  ordinary  occurrences  into  such  premonitions,  when,  by  some- 
thing similar  in  the  event  those  occurrences  would  seem  as  if  predic- 
tive, generally  discover  their  weakness ;  yet  the  circumstances  of  the 
death  of  an  eminent  person  are  commonly  very  acceptable  to  the 
public,  and  for  this  reason  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  an  anecdote 
which  Mr.  Davies  more  than  once  took  notice  of  in  his  last  sickness. 

An  intimate  friend  of  his,  a  few  days  before  the  beginning  of  the 
year  in  which  he  died,  in  conversation  told  him,  that  a  sermon  would 
be  expected  from  him  on  the  new  year's  day;  and,  among  other  things, 
happened  to  mention  that  the  late  President  Burr,  on  the  first  day  of 


APPENDIX.  53 

the  year  wherein  he  died,  preached  a  sermon  on  Jer.  xxviii.  16.  "Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  This  year  thou  shalt  die ;"  and  after  his  death,  the 
people  took  occasion  to  say  it  was  premonitory ;  upon  which  Mr.  Da- 
vies  observed,  that  "  although  it  ought  not  to  be  viewed  in  that  light, 
yet  it  was  very  remarkable."  When  new  year's  day  came,  he  preached ; 
and  the  congregation  were  not  a  little  surprised  at  his  taking  the  same 
text  of  Scripture.  Upon  his  being  taken  with  his  last  sickness,  about 
three  weeks  after,  he  soon  adverted  to  this  circumstance,  and  men- 
tioned it  as  remarkable  that  he  had  been  undesignedly  led  to  preach, 
as  it  were,  his  own  funeral  sermon. 

It  is  much  to  be  lamented  that  the  violence  of  the  disorder,  of 
which  this  excellent  man  died,  deprived  him  of  the  regular  exercise 
of  his  reason  the  greater  part  of  the  time  of  his  sickness,  otherwise 
the  public  would  undoubtedly  have  been  gratified  with  his  remarks 
on  the  views  of  an  approaching  eternity,  and  would  have  received  an- 
other evidence  of  the  superior  excellency  and  power  of  that  religion, 
which  alone  can  support  the  soul,  and  make  the  otherwise  gloomy 
prospect  of  death  cheerful.  For  the  issues  of  this  decisive  period  his 
life  had  been  eminently  calculated  from  his  youth.  It  abundantly 
appears,  that  from  twelve  or  fourteen  years  of  age,  he  had  continually 
maintained  the  strictest  watch  over  his  thoughts  and  actions,  and 
daily  lived  under  a  deep  sense  of  his  own  unworthiness,  of  the  trans- 
cendent excellency  of  the  Christian  religion,  of  the  great  importance 
of  a  public  spirit,  and  the  necessity  of  exerting  it  in  promoting  the 
general  good.  Even  in  his  delirium  his  mind  discovered  the  favourite 
object  of  his  concern,  the  prosperity  of  Christ's  Church,  and  the  good 
of  mankind.  His  bewildered  brain  was  continually  imagining,  and 
his  faltering  tongue  expressing  some  expedient  for  these  important 
purposes.  Alas  !  for  us,  that  so  great  a  light  could  no  longer  continue 
in  this  dark  world  ! 


A  POKTION  OF 

'."•"'•      TWO   DISCOURSES, 

PREACHED   AT   HABERDASHERS-HALL,    LONDON,    MARCH   29,  A.D. 
1761,  OCCASIONED    BY  THE   DECEASE    OF  THE 

KEV.  SAMUEL  DAVIES,  A.  M., 

LATE    PRESIDENT    OF    THE    COLLEGE    OF   NASSAU    HALL,  IN   NEW 

JERSEY. 

BY  THOMAS  GIBBONS,  D.D. 


EPHESIANS  1. 11. 

Who  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will. 

THE  last  week  gave  me  the  awful  assurance  of  the  sudden  and  un- 
expected death  of  that  most  excellent  and  amiable  man  and  minister 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  President  of  the  College  of 
Nassau  Hall,  in  New  Jersey,  by  a  most  moving  and  melting  letter 
from  a  gentleman  of  Philadelphia,  an  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Davies', 
and  who  well  knew  his  worth,  to  a  correspondent  of  the  gentleman's 
here  in  London. 

A  greater  loss,  all  things  considered,  could  not  perhaps  befal  the 
Church  of  God  in  the  death  of  a  single  person.  The  God  of  nature 
had  endowed  Mr.  Davies  with  extraordinary  talents.  Perhaps  in  sub- 
limity and  strength  of  genius  there  were  very  few,  if  any,  who  sur- 
passed him.  To  the  brightest  and  richest  intellects  Mr.  Davies  had 
superadded  the  improvements  of  science,  and  a  large  acquaintance  with 

55 


56  THE    OPERATIONS    OF    GOD    SHOWN 

books,  and  possibly,  had  he  lived,  there  would  have  been  scarcely  a 
man  in  our  world  a  more  accomplished  divine,  or  a  more  eminent 
scholar.  His  character  in  life  was  wonderfully  accommodated  both  to 
his  natural  and  acquired  abilities.  He  was  President  of  New  Jersey 
College,  in  the  discharge  of  which  office  there  would  have  been  a  de- 
mand for  the  exertion  of  his  amazing  talents,  and  the  exhibition  of 
all  his  treasures  of  literature  and  knowledge.  Thus,  as  he  was  a  star 
of  the  first  magnitude,  so  he  was  placed  in  a  situation  where  he  might 
have  shone  without  any  waste  of  his  distinguished  and  supereminent 
glories. 

But  what  crowned  all,  or  advanced  his  distinction  as  a  man  and  a 
scholar  into  the  highest  value  and  lustre,  was,  that  his  pious  character 
appeared  not  at  all  inferior  to  his  great  intellect  and  acquired  accom- 
plishments. Nay,  (let  me  not  be  thought,  for  I  intimately  knew  him, 
to  exceed  the  limits  of  truth  in  the  ardour  of  my  friendship)  his  pious 
character  as  much  surpassed  all  else  that  was  remarkable  in  him,  as 
the  sparkling  eye  in  the  countenance  of  a  great  genius  does  all  the 
other  features  of  the  face.  If  Mr.  Davies'  good  sense  and  learning 
were  the  pictures  of  silver,  his  graces  and  virtues  were  the  apples  of 
gold. 

Here  let  me  stay  awhile ;  and,  though  I  shall  only  give  you  a  few 
outlines  of  his  piety  and  amiable  disposition,  yet  let  me  be  allowed  to 
present  you  with  such  a  view  of  him  as  shall  not  only  be  sufficient  to 
demonstrate  him  to  be  the  best  of  men  and  ministers,  but  as  shall 
leave  room  for  you  to  conclude  that  great  additions  might  be  made  to 
his  character  by  persons  who  had  a  longer  acquaintance  with  him  than 
myself,  and  the  collected  testimonies  of  the  friends  who  were  favoured 
with  his  intimate  correspondence. 

He  informed  me  in  one  of  his  letters,  for  I  was  honoured  with  a 
close  intimacy  with  him  several  years,  "  That  he  was  blessed  with  a 
mother  whom  he  might  account,  without  filial  vanity  or  partiality,  one 
of  the  most  eminent  saints  he  ever  knew  upon  earth.  And  here, 
says  he,  I  cannot  but  mention  to  my  friend  an  anecdote  known  but  to 
few,  that  is,  that  I  am  a  son  of  prayer,  like  my  name-sake  Samuel  the 
prophet ;  and  my  mother  called  me  Samuel  because,  she  said,  I  have 
asked  him  of  the  Lord,  1  Sam.  i.  20.  This  early  dedication  to  God 
has  always  been  a  strong  inducement  to  me  to  devote  myself  to  him 
by  my  own  personal  act ;  and  the  most  important  blessings  of  my  life 


TO    BE    THE    OPERATIONS    OF    WISDOM.  57 

I  have  looked  upon  as  immediate-  answers  to  the  prayers  of  a  pious 
mother.  But,  alas  !  what  a  degenerate  plant  am  I !  How  unworthy 
of  such  a  parent,  and  such  a  birth  !" 

From  the  accounts  Mr.  Davies  gave  of  himself  in  the  conversation 
that  passed  between  us  when  he  was  here  in  England,  I  learnt,  as  the 
inference  from  related  fact,  that  he  must  have  been  very  assiduous  in 
his  studies.  When  he  was  about  entering  the  ministry,  or  had  not 
long  entered  upon  it,  if  I  remember  right,  he  was  judged  to  be  in  a 
deep  and  irrecoverable  consumption.  Finding  himself  upon  the  bor- 
ders of  the  grave,  and  without  any  hopes  of  recovery,  he  determined 
to  spend  the  little  remains  of  an  almost  exhausted  life,  as  he  appre- 
hended it,  in  endeavouring  to  advance  his  Master's  glory  in  the  good 
of  souls.  Accordingly  he  removed  from  the  place  where  he  was,  to 
another  about  an  hundred  miles  distance,  that  was  then  in  want  of  a 
minister.  Here  he  laboured  in  season  and  out  of  season ;  and,  as  he 
told  me,  preached  in  the  day,  and  had  his  hectic  fever  by  night,  and 
that  to  such  a  degree  as  to  be  sometimes  delirious,  and  to  stand  in 
need  of  persons  to  sit  up  with  him.  Here  G-od  gave  him  some  glo- 
rious first-fruits  of  his  ministry,  for  two  instances  of  the  conversion 
of  two  gentlemen  he  related  to  me  were  very  remarkable,  and  he  had 
the  satisfaction,  as  he  informed  me,  to  find  in  the  after  accounts  of 
them,  that  there  was  good  reason  to  believe  that  they  were  saints  in- 
deed ;  their  goodness  being  by  no  means  "  as  the  grass  upon  the 
house  tops,  which  withereth  afore  it  groweth  up,  and  wherewith  the 
mower  filleth  not  his  hand,"  Psal.  cxxix.  6,  7,  but  yielding  the  fruits 
meet  for  repentance,  in  an  holy  and  well-ordered  conversation. 

Afterwards  he  settled  in  Virginia,  a  colony  where  profaneness  and 
immorality  called  aloud  for  his  sacred  labours.  His  patience  and  per- 
severance, his  magnanimity  and  piety,  together  with  his  powerful  and 
evangelical  ministrations,  were  not  without  success.  The  wilderness 
and  the  solitary  places,  in  the  course  of  his  stay  there,  bloomed  and 
blossomed  before  him.  His  tract  of  preaching,  if  I  remember  right, 
for  some  time  was  not  less  than  sixty  miles,  and  by  what  I  have  learnt, 
though  not  from  himself,  he  had  but  little  of  this  world's  goods  to 
repay  his  zealous  and  indefatigable  labours ;  but  his  reward,  as  he  well 
knew,  was  in  heaven  ;  and  he  felt,  I  doubt  not,  the  animated  joy  that 
every  negro  slave,  which  under  his  ministration  became  the  Lord's 
freeman,  would  furnish  an  additional  jewel  to  his  eternal  crown. 
VOL.  I.— 8 


58  THE    OPERATIONS    OF    GOD    SHOWN 

Upon  the  decease  of  that  excellent  man,  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards, President  of  the  College  of  Nassau  Hall,  in  New  Jersey,  Mr. 
Davies  writes  me  word,  that  Mr.  Lockwood,  in  New  England,  a  gen- 
tleman of  worthy  character,  was  chosen  to  fill  up  the  vacancy.  "  I 
have  not  yet  heard,  says  Mr.  Davies,  whether  he  has  accepted  the 
place.  The  trustees  were  divided  between  him,  another  gentleman, 
and  myself,  but  I  happily  escaped."  But  so  it  was  ordered  by  Mr. 
Lockwood's  not  accepting  the  invitation,  that  Mr.  Davies  was  after- 
wards elected  President  of  the  College  ;  and  what  concern,  and  indeed 
what  consternation  this  choice  gave  him,  his  letters  to  me  amply  tes- 
tify ;  and  I  could  particularly  relate  to  you  what  views  he  had  of 
things,  and  what  steps  he  took  to  determine  what  was  his  duty.  At 
last  he  accepted  the  call  to  his  important  office  of  presiding  in  the 
College ;  and  tells  me  in  a  letter,  dated  June  6,  1759,  "  That  the  evi- 
dence of  his  duty  was  so  plain,  that  even  his  skeptical  mind  was  satis- 
fied ;  and  that  his  people  saw  the  hand  of  Providence  in  it,  and  dared 
not  to  oppose." 

Here  he  was  settled  for  about  eighteen  months ;  and  as  he  could 
exercise  his  ministry  as  well  as  preside  over  the  College,  great 
things  might  have  been  expected  from  that  rare  and  remarkable  union 
there  was  in  him  of  what  was  great  and  good ;  and  with  pleasure  I 
have  received  the  information  from  his  friends  how  well  he  supported 
and  adorned  his  character,  and  what  high  expectations  were  formed  as 
to  the  benefit  and  blessing  he  was  likely  to  prove  to  that  seminary  of 
religion  and  learning.  "  His  whole  soul  (says  the  letter  that  gives 
the  news  of  his  death)  was  engaged  for  the  good  of  the  youth  under 
his  care."  And  again,  "  Nassau  Hall  in  tears,  disconsolate,  and  re- 
fusing to  be  comforted." 

But,  alas !  in  the  midst  of  his  days,  (little  more  than  thirty-six 
years  of  age)  he  was  called  away  from  this  but  opening  scene  of  large 
and  extraordinary  usefulness  to  the  invisible  world,  the  world  of  glory 
and  blessedness,  never  to  sojourn  in  mortal  clay,  or  to  irradiate  and 
bless  the  church  militant  more.  He  is  dead,  he  is  departed — America 
in  groans  proclaims  her  inexpressible  loss,  and  we  in  Great  Britain  share 
the  distress,  and  echo  groan  for  groan. 

Thus  ended  the  days  on  earth  of  this  truly  great  and  good 
man ;  having  in  his  little  circle  of  life  shed  more  beams,  and 
done  more  service  than  many  a  languid  and  less  illuminated  soul, 


TO   BE    THE    OPERATIONS    OF    WISDOM.  59 

even  in  a  public  sphere,  in  the  revolution  of  sixty  or  fourscore 
years. 

Truly  great  and  good  I  may  style  him  without  the  suspicion  of  flat- 
ter}', and  without  the  flight  of  hyperbole.  Let  me  call  to  your  re- 
membrance, as  proofs  of  what  I  say,  the  excellent  discourses  he  has 
delivered  in  this  pulpit,  and  the  several  sermons  of  his  which  have 
been  published,  strong  in  manly  sense,  loaded  with  full  ideas,  rich 
with  evangelical  truth,  and  animated  with  the  most  sacred  fervour  for 
the  good  of  souls.  And  to  these  evidences  of  the  admirable  spirit 
that  dwelt  in  him,  let  me  add  a  few  paragraphs  from  the  many  letters 
with  which,  in  the  course  of  about  nine  years'  correspondence,  he  has 
favoured  me. 

Speaking  in  one  of  his  letters  concerning  his  children,  he  says,  "  I 
am  solicitous  for  them  when  I  consider  what  a  contagious  world  they 
have  entered  into,  and  the  innate  infection  of  their  natures.  There 
is  nothing  that  can  wound  a  parent's  heart  so  deep,  as  the  thought 
that  he  should  bring  up  children  to  dishonour  his  God  here  and  be 
miserable  hereafter.  I  beg  your  prayers  for  mine,  and  you  may  ex- 
pect a  retaliation  in  the  same  kind." 

In  another  letter  he  says,  "  We  have  now  three  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters ;  whose  young  minds  as  they  open  I  am  endeavouring  to  cultivate 
with  my  own  hand,  unwilling  to  trust  them  to  a  stranger ;  and  I  find 
the  business  of  education  much  more  difficult  than  I  expected. — My 
dear  little  creatures  sob  and  drop  a  tear  now  and  then  under  my  in- 
structions, but  I  am  not  so  happy  as  to  see  them  under  deep  and  last- 
ing impressions  of  religion  ;  and  this  is  the  greatest  grief  they  afford 
me.  Grace  cannot  be  communicated  by  natural  descent,  and,  if  it 
could,  they  would  receive  but  little  from  me.  I  earnestly  beg  your 
prayers  for  them." 

In  another  letter,  "  I  desire  seriously  to  devote  to  God  and  my  dear 
country,  all  the  labours  of  my  head,  my  heart,  my  hand,  and  pen ;  and 
if  he  pleases  to  bless  any  of  them,  I  hope  I  shall  be  thankful,  and 
wonder  at  his  condescending  grace.  Oh,  my  dear  brother  !  could  we 
spend  and  be  spent  all  our  lives  in  painful,  disinterested,  indefatigable 
service  for  God  and  the  world,  how  serene  and  bright  would  it  render 
the  swift  approaching  eve  of  life  !  I  am  labouring  to  do  a  little  to  save 
my  country,  and,  which  is  of  much  more  consequence,  to  save  souls 
from  death,  from  that  tremendous  kind  of  death,  which  a  soul  can 


60  THE    OPERATIONS    OF    GOD    SHOWN 

die.  I  have  but  little  success  of  late,  but  blessed  be  God,  it  surpasses 
my  expectation,  and  much  more  my  desert.  Some  of  my  brethren 
labour  to  better  purpose.  The  pleasure  of  the  Lord  prospers  in  their 
hands." 

Another  epistle  tells  me,  "  As  for  myself,  I  am  just  striving  not  to 
live  in  vain.  I  entered  the  ministry  with  such  a  sense  of  my  unfit- 
ness  for  it,  that  I  had  no  sanguine  expectations  of  success.  And  a 
condescending  God  (0,  how  condescending!)  has  made  me  much  more 
serviceable  than  I  could  hope.  But,  alas !  my  brother,  I  have  but 
little,  very  little  true  religion.  My  advancements  in  holiness  are  ex- 
tremely small ;  I  feel  what  I  confess,  and  am  sure  it  is  true,  and  not 
the  rant  of  excessive  or  afiected  humility.  It  is  an  easy  thing  to 
make  a  noise  in  the  world,  to  flourish  and  harangue,  to  dazzle  the 
crowd,  and  set  them  all  agape,  but  deeply  to  imbibe  the  spirit  of 
Christianity,  to  maintain  a  secret  walk  with  God,  to  be  holy  as  he  is 
holy,  this  is  the  labour,  this  the  work.  I  beg  the  assistance  of  your 
prayers  in  so  grand  and  important  an  enterprise.  The  difficulty  of 
the  ministerial  work  seems  to  grow  upon  my  hands.  Perhaps  once  in 
three  or  four  months  I  preach  in  some  measure  as  I  could  wish ;  that 
is,  I  preach  as  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  as  if  I  were  to  step  from  the 
pulpit  to  the  supreme  tribunal.  I  feel  my  subject.  I  melt  into  tears, 
or  I  shudder  with  horror,  when  I  denounce  the  terrors  of  the  Lord. 
I  glow,  I  soar  in  sacred  extacies,  when  the  love  of  Jesus  is  my  theme, 
and,  as  Mr.  Baxter  was  wont  to  express  it,  in  lines  more  striking  to 
me  than  all  the  fine  poetry  in  the  world, 

"  I  preach  as  if  I  ne'er  should  preach  again  ; 
And  as  a  dying  man  to  dying  men. 

But,  alas !  my  spirits  soon  flag,  my  devotions  languish,  and  my  zeal 
cools.  It  is  really  an  afflictive  thought  that  I  serve  so  good  a  Master 
with  so  much  inconstancy ;  but  so  it  is,  and  my  soul  mourns  upon  that 
account." 

In  another  letter  he  says,  "  I  am  labouring  to  do  a  little  good  in  the 
world.  But,  alas !  I  find  I  am  of  little  use  or  importance.  I  have 
many  defects,  but  none  gives  me  so  much  pain  and  mortifica- 
tion as  my  slow  progress  in  personal  holiness.  This  is  the  grand 
qualification  of  the  office  we  sustain,  as  well  as  for  that  heaven  we 


TO   BE    THE    OPERATIONS    OF    WISDOM.  61 

hope  for,  and  I  am  shocked  at  myself  when  I  see  how  little  I  have  of 
it." 

In  another  of  his  letters  he  acquaints  me,  "  That  he  indeed  feels  an 
union  of  hearts  which  cannot  bear  without  pain  the  intervention  of 
the  huge  Atlantic,  nor  even  the  absence  of  a  week.  But  our  conde- 
scending Lord,  adds  he,  calls  his  ministers  stars,  and  he  knows  best 
in  what  part  of  the  firmament  of  the  church  to  fix  them ;  and  (0  the 
delightful  thought!)  they  can  never  be  out  of  the  reach  of  his  beams, 
though  they  shine  in  different  hemispheres  with  regard  to  each  other. 
This  leads  me,  undesignedly,  to  a  criticism  on  Jude  13,  on  which  per- 
haps an  astronomer  would  be  the  best  commentator.  Wandering  stars, 
to  whom  is  reserved  the  blackness  of  darkness  for  ever.  Perhaps  an 
astronomical  critic  would  observe  that  false  teachers  are  represented  as 
planetary  or  wandering  stars,  that  in  their  eccentricities  run  out  into 
an  eternal  aphelion  from  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  beyond  the  system 
which  he  warms,  illuminates,  and  beatifies,  and  are  constantly  re- 
ceding from  the  Fountain  of  light,  life,  and  bliss,  and  therefore  must 
wander  through  the  blackness  of  darkness  for  ever ;  a  darkness  un- 
pierced  by  one  ray  from  the  great  Sun  and  Centre  of  the  moral  world 
— blackness  of  darkness,  an  abstract  predicated  of  an  abstract.  How 
gloomy  and  strong  the  expression  !" 

Let  me  give  you  another  quotation  from  his  letters.  "  I  am  very 
much  pleased  and  affected,  says  he,  with  the  subject  of  this  week's 
study,  and  next  Lord's  day's  entertainment,  namely,  "  A  bruised  reed 
shall  he  not  break,  and  the  smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench."  Such 
a  bruised  reed  at  best  am  I ;  a  weak,  oppressed,  useless  thing ;  a  stri- 
dens  stipula  that  can  make  no  agreeable  melody  to  entertain  my  great 
Shepherd.  Yet  this  bruised  reed  I  have  reason  to  hope  he  will  not 
break,  but  bind  up  and  support.  This  shattered  pipe  of  straw  he  will 
not  cast  away,  but  repair  and  tune  to  join  in  the  angelic  concert  on 
high.  I  am  at  best  but  smoking  flax ;  a  dying  snuff  in  the  candle- 
stick of  his  church;  a  wick  just  put  out  in  the  lamp  of  his  sanctuary. 
The  flame  of  divine  love,  sunk  deep  into  the  socket  of  a  corrupt 
heart,  quivers,  and  breaks,  and  catches,  and  seems  just  expiring  at 
times.  The  devil  and  the  world  raise  many  storms  to  blow  upon  it. 
And  yet  this  smoking  flax,  where  the  least  spark  of  that  sacred  pas- 
sion still  remains  which  renders  it  more  susceptive  of  his  love,  as  a 
candle  just  put  out  but  still  smoking,  is  easily  rekindled.  This  suiok- 


62  THE    OPERATIONS    OF    GOD    SHOWN 

ing  flax  he  will  not  quench,  but  blow  it  to  a  flame,  which  shall  shine 
brighter  and  brighter  till  it  mingles,  with  its  kindred  flames  in  the  pure 
element  of  love." 

I  shall  conclude  my  extracts  from  his  epistolary  correspondence 
with  a  part  of  a  letter,  dated 

HANOVER,  September,  12,  1757. 

"  MY  EVER  DEAR  FRIEND  : — 

"  I  am  just  beginning  to  creep  back  from  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  to  which  I  made  a  very  near  approach  a  few  days  ago.  I 
was  seized  with  a  most  violent  fever,  which  came  to  a  crisis  in  a  week, 
and  now  it  is  much  abated,  though  I  am  still  confined  to  my  chamber. 
In  this  shattered  state  my  trembling  hand  can  write  but  little  to  you, 
and  what  I  write  will  be  languid  and  confused,  like  its  author.  But 
as  the  Virginia  fleet  is  about  to  sail,  and  I  know  not  when  I  shall 
have  another  opportunity,  I  cannot  avoid  writing  something.  I  would 
sit  down  on  the  grave's  mouth,  and  talk  awhile  with  my  favourite 
friend ;  and  from  my  situation  you  may  foresee  what  subjects  my 
conversation  will  turn  upon — death — eternity — the  supreme  tribunal. 

"  Blessed  be  my  Masters's  name,  this  disorder  found  me  employed 
in  his  service.  It  seized  me  in  the  pulpit,  like  a  soldier  wounded  in 
the  field.  This  has  been  a  busy  summer  with  me.  In  about  two 
months  I  rode  about  five  hundred  miles,  and  preached  about  forty 
sermons.  This  affords  me  some  pleasure  in  the  review.  But,  alas ! 
the  mixture  of  sin  and  of  many  nameless  imperfections  that  run 
through  and  corrupt  all  my  services,  give  me  shame,  sorrow,  and  mor- 
tification. My  fever  made  unusual  ravages  upon  my  understanding, 
and  rendered  me  frequently  delirious,  and  always  stupid.  But,  when 
I  had  any  little  sense  of  things,  I  generally  felt  pretty  calm  and  se- 
rene, and  death,  that  mighty  terror,  was  disarmed.  Indeed  the 
thought  of  leaving  my  dear  family  destitute,  and  my  flock  shepherd- 
less,  made  me  often  start  back  and  cling  to  life ;  but  in  other  respects 
death  appeared  a  kind  of  indifferency  to  me.  Formerly  I  have  wished 
to  live  longer  that  I  might  be  better  prepared  for  heaven,  but  this 
consideration  had  but  very  little  weight  with  me,  and  that  for  a  very 
unusual  reason,  which  was  this.  After  long  trial  I  found  that  this  world 
is  a  place  so  unfriendly  to  the  growth  of  every  thing  divine  and 
heavenly,  that  I  was  afraid,  if  I  should  live  longer,  I  should  be  no 


TO    BE    THE    OPERATIONS    OF    WISDOM.  63 

better  fitted  for  heaven  than  I  am.  Indeed  I  have  hardly  any  hopes 
of  ever  making  any  great  attainments  in  holiness  while  in  this  world, 
though  I  should  be  doomed  to  stay  in  it  as  long  as  Methuselah.  I  see 
other  Christians  indeed  around  me  make  some  progress,  though  they 
go  on  with  but  a  snail-like  motion  :  but  when  I  consider  that  I  set 
out  about  twelve  years  old,  and  what  sanguine  hopes  I  then  had  of  my 
future  progress,  and  yet  that  I  have  been  almost  at  a  stand  ever  since, 
I  am  quite  discouraged.  Oh,  my  good  Master !  if  I  may  dare  to  call 
thee  so,  I  am  afraid  I  shall  never  serve  thee  much  better  on  this  side 
the  region  of  perfection.  The  thought  grieves  me ;  it  breaks  my 
heart,  but  I  can  hardly  hope  better.  But  if  I  have  the  least  spark  of 
true  piety  in  my  breast,  I  shall  not  always  labour  under  this  complaint. 
No,  my  Lord,  I  shall  yet  serve  thee — serve  thee  through  an  immortal 
duration — with  the  activity,  the  fervour,  the  perfection  of  the  rapt 
seraph  that  adores  and  burns.  I  very  much  suspect  this  desponding 
view  of  the  matter  is  wrong,  and  I  do  not  mention  it  with  approba- 
tion, but  only  relate  it  as  an  unusual  reason  for  my  willingness  to  die, 
which  I  never  felt  before,  and  which  I  could  not  suppress. 

"  In  my  sickness  I  found  the  unspeakable  importance  of  a  Medi- 
ator in  a  religion  for  sinners.  Oh  !  I  could  have  given  you  the  word 
of  a  dying  man  for  it,  that  that  Jesus  whom  you  preach  is  indeed  a 
necessary,  and  an  all-sufficient  Saviour.  Indeed  he  is  the  only  sup- 
port for  a  departing  soul.  None  but  Christ,  none  but  Christ.  Had  I 
as  many  good  works  as  Abraham  or  Paul,  I  would  not  have  dared  to 
build  my  hopes  upon  such  a  quicksand,  but  only  on  this  firm,  eternal 
Rock. 

"  I  am  rising  up,  my  brother,  with  a  desire  to  recommend  him  bet- 
ter to  my  fellow-sinners,  than  I  have  done.  But,  alas  !  I  hardly  hope 
to  accomplish  it.  He  has  done  a  great  deal  more  by  me  already  than 
I  ever  expected,  and  infinitely  more  than  I  deserved.  But  he  never 
intended  me  for  great  things.  He  has  beings  both  of  my  own,  and 
of  superior  orders,  that  can  perform  him  more  worthy  service.  Oh  ! 
if  I  might  but  untie  the  latchet  of  his  shoes,  or  draw  water  for  the 
service  of  his  sanctuary,  it  is  enough  for  me.  I  am  no  angel,  nor 
would  I  murmur  because  I  am  not. 

"  My  strength  fails  me,  and  I  must  give  over.  Pray  for  me — write 
t0  me — love  me  living  and  dying,  on  earth  and  in  heaven." 

Judge  you  from  these  passages,  written  in  the  freedom  of  friend- 


64  THE   OPERATIONS    OF   GOD. 

ship,  and  to  one  to  whom  he  scrupled  not  to  lay  open  the  secrets  of 
his  bosom,  what  a  loss  the  Church  has  sustained,  and  how  much  our 
world  is  impoverished  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Davies,  in  the  vigour  of 
his  days,  and  in  the  meridian  of  his  usefulness ! 

Such  a  blow,  such  an  uncommon  and  distressing  blow  has  been 
given  in  the  death  of  Mr  Davies.  And  now  what  shall  we  do  ?  to 
what  shall  we  recur,  or  to  what  quarter  shall  we  look  for  help  under 
such  an  awful  Providence  ? 


CHARACTER 


OP 


THE   EEV.  SAMUEL   DAVIES. 

BY  THE  REV.  DAVID  BOSTWICK,  A.  M., 

OF  NEW  YORK. 


IT  will  doubtless  be  acknowledged  on  all  hands,  that  a  decent  re- 
spect, and  a  proportionable  tribute  of  honour  are  due  to  the  memory 
of  those  deceased,  whom  the  God  of  nature  and  grace  had  furnished 
with  every  valuable  endowment,  and  in  his  providence  had  advanced 
to  an  extensive  sphere  of  usefulness  while  they  lived ;  and  that  this 
was  eminently  the  case  of  my  reverend  friend  and  brother,  no  one, 
who  had  the  happiness  of  his  personal  acquaintance,  or  could  rely  on 
the  testimony  of  universal  fame,  will  pretend  to  dispute. 

I  am,  however,  truly  sensible  that  to  exhibit  a  just  portraiture  of 
President  Davies,  and  draw  the  lineaments  of  his  amiable  character, 
is  a  task  too  arduous  for  me,  and  would  require  a  genius  not  inferior 
to  his  own ;  but  however,  the  friendship  with  which  he  was  pleased 
to  honour  me,  the  esteem  and  veneration  I  had  for  him  while  he  lived, 
with  the  just  sense  I  still  entertain  of  his  uncommon  worth,  unitedly 
demand  the  present  exertion  of  my  feeble  attempts. 

Mr.  Davies  was  a  man  of  such  uncommon  furniture,  both  of  gifts 
and  grace,  and  adorned  with  such  an  assemblage  of  amiable  and  useful 
qualities,  and  each  shining  with  such  distinguished  lustre,  that  it  is 
truly  hard  to  say  in  which  he  most  excelled,  and  equally  hard  to  men- 
tion one  valuable  or  useful  accomplishment  in  which  he  did  not  excel. 

VOL.  I.— 9  65 


66  CHARACTER    OF 

A  large  and  capacious  understanding  —  a  solid,  unbiassed,  and 
well-regulated  judgment  —  a  quick  apprehension — a  genius  truly 
penetrating — a  fruitful  invention  —  an  elegant  taste,  —  were  all 
happily  united  in  him,  and  constituted  a  real  greatness  of  mind, 
which  never  failed  to  strike  every  observer  with  an  agreeable  sur- 
prise. 

To  this  extraordinary  natural  capacity  were  added  the  improve- 
ments of  a  learned  and  polite  education,  which,  though  in  the  early 
years  of  his  study  it  was  embarrassed  with  many  peculiar  disadvan- 
tages, yet  by  the  strength  of  his  genius,  and  dint  of  indefatigable  ap- 
plication, was  cultivated  to  such  a  degree  of  elegance  and  refinement, 
as  attracted  the  notice  and  admiration  of  all  the  friends  of  science 
wherever  he  was  known. 

And  as  the  powers  of  his  mind  were  enriched  with  every  valuable 
human  accomplishment,  so  they  were  eminently  improved  by  the  in- 
fluence and  eflicacy  of  sanctifying  grace ;  in  consequence  of  which 
they  were  all  sincerely  devoted  to  the  service  of  God,  and  the  good  of 
mankind.  In  the  early  stages  of  his  life,  it  pleased  a  Sovereign  God 
to  call  him  effectually  from  his  natural  alienation  to  the  knowledge 
and  love  of  himself,  to  take  a  powerful  possession  of  his  heart,  and 
seize  all  the  faculties  of  his  active  and  capacious  soul  for  his  service. 
Upon  finishing,  therefore,  the  course  of  his  preparatory  studies,  he  en- 
tered into  the  sacred  employment  of  the  gospel  ministry,  and  solemnly 
dedicated  himself  with  all  his  superior  talents  to  the  work  of  the 
sanctuary. 

In  the  exercise  of  this  sacred  office,  his  fervent  zeal  and  undis- 
sembled  piety,  his  popular  talents  and  engaging  methods  of  address, 
soon  acquired  him  a  distinguished  character,  and  general  admiration. 
Scarce  was  he  known  as  a  public  preacher  but  he  was  sent,  on  the 
earnest  application  of  the  people,  to  some  of  the  distant  settlements  of 
Virginia,  where  many  of  the  inhabitants,  in  respect  of  religion,  were 
but  a  small  remove  from  the  darkness  and  ignorance  of  uncultivated 
heathenism,  and  where  the  religion  of  Jesus,  which  he  endeavoured 
to  propagate,  had  to  encounter  all  the  blindness,  prejudice,  and  enmity 
that  are  natural  to  the  heart  of  the  most  depraved  sinner.  Yet  under 
all  apparent  disadvantages,  his  labours  were  attended  with  such  remark- 
able success,  that  all  opposition  quitted  the  unequal  combat,  and  gave 
way  to  the  powerful  energy  of  the  divine  Spirit,  which  was  graciously 


THE    AUTHOR.  67 

pleased  by  his  ministry  to  add  many  new  subjects  to  the  spiritual 
kingdom  of  our  glorious  Immanuel. 

The  work  of  the  ministry  was  Mr.  Davies'  great  delight ;  and  for 
it  he  was  admirably  furnished  with  every  valuable  qualification  of  na- 
ture and  grace.  Divinity  was  a  favourite  study,  in  which  he  made  a 
proficiency  uncommon  for  his  years,  and  yet  he  generally  preferred 
the  most  necessary  and  practical  branches  of  it  to  the  dark  mazes  of 
endless  controversy  and  intricate  disputes ;  aiming  chiefly  at  the  con- 
version of  sinners,  and  to  change  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men  by  an 
affecting  representation  of  the  plain,  but  most  important,  interesting 
truths  of  the  law  and  the  gospel.  His  talent  at  composition,  espe- 
cially for  the  pulpit,  was  equaled  by  few,  and  perhaps  exceeded  by 
none.  His  taste  was  judicious,  elegant,  and  polite,  and  yet  his  dis- 
courses were  plain  and  pungent,  peculiarly  adapted  to  pierce  the  con- 
science and  affect  the  heart.  His  diction  was  surpassingly  beautiful 
and  comprehensive,  tending  to  make  the  most  stupid  hearer  sensibly 
feel,  as  well  as  clearly  understand.  Sublimity  and  elegance,  plainness 
and  perspicuity,  and  all  the  force  and  energy  that  the  language  of 
mortals  could  convey,  were  the  ingredients  of  almost  every  composi- 
tion. His  manner  of  delivery,  as  to  pronunciation,  gesture,  and  modu- 
lation of  voice,  seemed  to  be  a  perfect  model  of  the  most  moving  and 
striking  oratory. 

Whenever  he  ascended  the  sacred  desk,  he  seemed  to  have  not 
only  the  attention,  but  all  the  various  passions  of  his  auditory  entirely 
at  his  command.  And  as  his  personal  appearance  was  august  and 
venerable,  yet  benevolent  and  mild,  so  he  could  speak  with  the  most 
commanding  authority,  or  melting  tenderness,  according  to  the  varia- 
tion of  his  subject.  With  what  majesty  and  grandeur,  with  what  en- 
ergy and  striking  solemnity,  with  what  powerful  and  almost  irresistible 
eloquence  would  he  illustrate  the  truths,  and  inculcate  the  duties  of 
Christianity  !  Mount  Sinai  seemed  to  thunder  from  his  lips,  when  he 
denounced  the  tremendous  curses  of  the  law,  and  sounded  the  dread- 
ful alarm  to  guilty,  secure,  impenitent  sinners.  The  solemn  scenes  of 
the  last  judgment  seemed  to  rise  in  view,  when  he  arraigned,  tried, 
and  convicted  self-deceivers  and  formal  hypocrites.  And  how  did  the 
balm  of  Grilead  distil  from  his  lips,  when  he  exhibited  a  bleeding,  dying 
Saviour  to  sinful  mortals,  as  a  sovereign  remedy  for  the  wounded 
heart,  and  anguished  conscience !  In  a  word,  whatever  subject  he 


68  CHARACTER    OF 

undertook,  persuasive  eloquence  dwelt  upon  his  tongue ;  and  bis 
audience  was  all  attention.  He  spoke  as  on  the  borders  of  eternity, 
and  as  viewing  the  glories  and  terrors  of  an  unseen  world,  and  con- 
veyed the  most  grand  and  affecting  ideas  of  these  important  realities  ; 
realities  which  he  then  firmly  believed,  and  which  he  now  sees  in  the 
clearest  light  of  intuitive  demonstrations. 

The  unusual  lustre  with  which  he  shone  could  not  long  be  con- 
fined to  that  remote  corner  of  the  world,  but  soon  attracted  the  notice 
and  pleasing  admiration  of  men  of  genius,  learning,  or  piety,  far  and 
near ;  and  therefore,  on  a  vacancy  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  occa- 
sioned by  the  decease  of  two  former  Presidents,*  in  a  close  and 
awful  succession,  he  was  elected  to  that  important  oflice  in  the  year 
1759. 

Distressing  as  it  was  both  to  him  and  his  people,  united  in  the 
strongest  bonds  of  mutual  affection,  to  think  of  a  separation,  yet  a 
conviction  of  absolute  duty,  resulting  from  the  importance  of  the  sta- 
tion, from  the  various  concurring  providences,  and  lastly,  from  the 
unanimous  advice  of  his  reverend  brethren  convened  in  synod,  de- 
termined him  to  accept  the  proposal.  Great  and  pleasing  were  the 
expectations  with  which  we  beheld  him  enter  into  that  exalted  sphere 
of  service ;  yet  I  may  boldly  say  that  they  were  vastly  exceeded  in 
every  respect  by  the  reputable  manner  in  which  he  discharged  the 
arduous  trust.  The  progress  he  made  in  all  the  branches  of  science, 
with  his  capacity  and  diligence  to  acquire  new  improvements,  enabled 
him  to  conduct  the  youth  with  great  advantage  through  the  several 
stages  of  useful  and  polite  literature.  And,  while  he  endeavoured  to 
improve  the  minds,  he  was  not  less  solicitous  to  reform  the  hearts  and 
lives  of  his  pupils,  to  make  them  good  as  well  as  great,  and  fit  them 
for  both  worlds.  He  knew  that  religion  was  the  brightest  ornament 
of  the  human,  and  the  fairest  image  of  the  divine  nature,  that  all  true 
benevolence  to  men  must  have  its  foundation  laid  in  a  supreme  love 
to  God,  and  that  undissembled  piety  in  the  heart  was  the  best  security 
for  usefulness  in  every  character  of  life.  It  was  therefore  his  con- 
stant endeavour  to  promote  the  eternal  as  well  as  the  temporal  good 
of  the  youth  entrusted  to  his  tuition,  not  only  by  his  fervent  preaching 

*  The  Rev.  Aaron  Burr,  in  1757,  and  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards,  who 
succeeded  him,  and  died  the  winter  following. 


THE    AUTHOR.  69 

and  exemplary  life,  but  by  inculcating  at  the  proper  seasons  the  worth 
of  their  souls,  and  the  vast,  the  inexpressible  importance  of  their  ever- 
lasting interests. 

In  the  government  of  the  College,  he  had  the  peculiar  art  of  min- 
gling authority  and  lenity  in  such  a  due  proportion,  as  seldom  or  never 
failed  of  the  desired  success.  Hence  he  was  revered  and  loved  by 
every  member  of  that  collected  family  over  which  he  presided.  His 
performances  at  public  anniversary  Commencements,  as  they  never 
failed  to  do  honour  to  the  institution,  so  they  always  surprised  his 
friends  themselves  by  exceeding,  far  exceeding  their  most  sanguine 
expectations.  His  poetical  compositions,  and  his  elegant  taste  for 
cultivating  the  Muses,  gave  additional  embellishments  to  those  per- 
formances, and  greatly  heightened  the  pleasure  of  his  crowded 
auditors. 

His  acquaintance  with  mankind,  his  easy  and  polite  behaviour, 
his  affability  and  condescension,  his  modesty  and  candour,  his  engag- 
ing manner  of  address,  with  his  sprightly  and  entertaining  conversa- 
tion, all  the  genuine  fruits  of  a  most  benevolent  heart,  rendered  him 
greatly  beloved  through  the  large  circle  of  his  acquaintance,  and  as 
greatly  admired  even  by  strangers,  whose  occasional  excursions  gave 
them  only  the  opportunity  of  a  transient  interview. 

His  natural  temper,  amiable  in  itself,  and  sweetened  with  all  the 
charms  of  divine  grace,  rendered  him  peculiarly  dear  in  all  the  rela- 
tive characters  of  social  life,  whether  as  a  husband,  a  father,  a  tutor, 
or  a  friend. 

With  this  excellent  man  at  the  head  of  the  College,  what  pleasing 
prospects  did  we  form  of  the  extensive  usefulness  of  that  infant 
seminary,  both  to  the  church  and  to  the  commonwealth !  He  was, 
in  short,  all  we  could  wish  or  desire  in  a  man,  to  promote  the  valuable 
interests  of  learning  and  piety,  and  render  the  College  reputable  and 
useful. 

But,  alas!  all  his  ample  furniture  of  gifts  and  graces,  all  the 
amiable  qualities  of  the  mind,  with  the  advantages  of  the  happiest 
constitution  of  body,  could  not  secure  him  from  the  fate  of  mortals. 
He  is  gone ;  he  has  quitted  this  inferior  world  amidst  the  unfeigned 
sorrows  of  his  family,  his  friends,  the  College,  and  our  country ;  he 
has  taken  his  flight  to  his  native  skies,  and  joined  with  kindred  spirits 
in  the  regions  of  a  glorious  immortality,  while  his  remains  are  gathered 


70  CHARACTER  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

to  those  of  his  predecessors,  in  the  dark  and  dreary  repository  of  the 
grave. 

Oh  the  unutterable  and  extensive  loss  to  a  distressed  family,  to  a 
bereaved  College,  to  the  ministry,  to  the  church,  to  the  community, 
to  the  republic  of  letters,  and  in  short  to  all  the  valuable  interests  of 
mankind ! 


SERMONS 


IMPORTANT  SUBJECTS. 


SERMON   I. 

THE   DIVINE   AUTHORITY   AND    SUFFICIENCY    OF   THE 
CHRISTIAN    RELIGION. 

LUKE  xvi.  27-31 :   Then  he  said,  I  pray  thee  therefore, 
father,  that  thouwouldst  send  him  to  my  father's  house  : 
for  I  have  five  brethren  ;  that  he  may  testify  unto  them, 
lest  they  also  come  into  this  place  of  torment.     Abraham 
saith  unto  him,  They  have  Moses  and  the  prophets  ;  let 
them  hear  them.     And  he  said,  Nay,  father  Abraham  : 
but  if  one  went  unto  them  from  the  dead  they  will  re- 
pent.    And  he  said  unto  him,  If  they  hear  not  Moses 
and  the  prophets,  neither  wilt  they  be  persuaded,  though 
one  rose  from  the  dead. 

WHAT  Micah  said  superstitiously,  when  he  was  robbed 
of  his  idols,  Ye  have  taken  away  my  gods;  and  what  have 
I  more  ?  (Judg.  xviii.  24)  may  be  truly  spoken  with  re- 
gard to  the  religion  of  Jesus.  If  that  be  taken  from  us, 
what  have  we  more?  If  the  foundations  be  destroyed, 
what  shall  the  righteous  do  ?  Ps.  xi.  3.  The  generality 
of  you  owe  all  your  hopes  of  a  glorious  immortality  to 

71 


72  THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY   AND    SUFFICIENCY 

this  heaven-born  religion,  and  you  make  it  the  rule  of 
your  faith  and  practice;  confident  that  in  so  doing  you 
please  God. 

But  what  if  after  all  you  should  be  mistaken?  What 
if  the  religion  of  Jesus  should  be  an  imposture? — I  know 
you  are  struck  with  horror  at  the  thought,  and  perhaps, 
alarmed  at  my  making  so  shocking  a  supposition.  But 
this  suspicion,  horrid  as  it  is,  has  probably  been  suggested 
to  you  at  times  by  infernal  agency ;  this  suspicion  may  at 
times  have  arisen  in  your  minds  in  their  wanton  and  licen- 
tious excursions,  or  from  the  false  alarms  of  a  melancholy 
and  timorous  imagination :  and  if  this  suspicion  has  never 
been  raised  in  you  by  the  sophistical  conversation  of  loose 
wits  and  affected  rationalists,  it  has  been  owing  to  your 
happy  retirement  from  the  polite  world,  where  infidelity 
makes  extensive  conquests,  under  the  specious  name  of 
Deism.  Since  therefore  you  are  subject  to  an  assault  from 
such  a  suspicion,  when  you  may  not  be  armed  ready  to 
repel  it,  let  me  this  day  start  it  from  its  ambush,  that  I 
may  try  the  force  of  a  few  arguments  upon  it,  and  furnish 
you  with  weapons  to  conquer  it. 

Let  me  also  tell  you,  that  that  faith  in  the  Christian  re- 
ligion which  proceeds  from  insufficient  or  bad  principles, 
is  but  little  better  than  infidelity.  If  you  believe  the 
Christian  religion  to  be  divine,  because  you  hardly  care 
whether  it  be  true  or  false,  being  utterly  unconcerned 
about  religion  in  any  shape,  and  therefore  never  examin- 
ing the  matter;  if  you  believe  it  true,  because  you  have 
been  educated  in  it;  because  your  parents  or  ministers 
have  told  you  so;  or  because  it  is  the  religion  of  your 
country ;  if  these  are  the  only  grounds  of  your  faith,  it  is 
not  such  a  faith  as  constitutes  you  true  Christians;  for 
upon  the  very  same  grounds  you  would  have  been  Maho- 
metans in  Turkey,  disciples  of  Confucius  in  China,  or 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  73 

worshippers  of  the  Devil  among  the  Indians,  if  it  had 
been  your  unhappy  lot  to  be  born  in  those  countries ;  for 
a  Mahometan,  or  a  Chinese,  or  an  Indian,  can  assign 
these  grounds  for  his  faith.  Surely,  I  need  not  tell  you, 
that  the  grounds  of  a  mistaken  belief  in  an  imposture, 
are  not  a  sufficient  foundation  for  a  saving  faith  in  divine 
revelation.  I  am  afraid  there  are  many  such  implicit  be- 
lievers among  us,  who  are  in  the  right  only  by  chance : 
and  these  lie  a  prey  to  every  temptation,  and  may  be 
turned  out  of  the  way  of  truth  by  every  wind  of  doctrine. 
It  is  therefore  necessary  to  teach  them  the  grounds  of  the 
Christian  religion,  both  to  prevent  their  seduction,  and  to 
give  them  a  rational  and  well-grounded  faith,  instead  of 
that  which  is  only  blind  and  accidental. 

Nay,  such  of  us  as  have  the  clearest  conviction  of  this 
important  truth,  have  need  to  have  it  inculcated  upon  us, 
that  we  may  be  more  and  more  impressed  with  it ;  for  the 
influence  of  Christianity  upon  our  hearts  and  lives  will  be 
proportioned  to  the  realizing,  affecting  persuasion  of  its 
truth  and  certainty  in  our  understandings. 

If  I  can  prove  that  Christianity  answers  all  the  ends  of 
a  religion  from  God;  if  I  can  prove  that  it  is  attended 
with  sufficient  attestation;  if  I  can  prove  that  no  suffi- 
cient objections  can  be  offered  against  it;  and  that  men 
have  no  reason  at  all  to  desire  another ;  but  that  if  this 
proves  ineffectual  for  their  reformation  and  salvation, 
there  is  no  ground  to  hope  that  any  other  would  prove 
successful;  I  say,  if  I  can  prove  these  things,  then  the 
point  in  debate  is  carried,  and  we  must  all  embrace  the 
religion  of  Jesus  as  certainly  true.  These  things  are  as- 
serted or  implied  in  my  text,  with  respect  to  the  Scrip- 
tures then  extant,  Moses  and  the  prophets. 

My  text  is  a  parabolical  dialogue  between  Abraham 

and  one  of  his  wretched  posterity,  once   rioting  in   the 
VOL.  I.— 10 


74  THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

luxuries  of  high  life,  but  now  tormented  in  infernal 
flames. 

We  read  of  his  brethren  in  his  father's  house.  Among 
these  probably  his  estate  was  divided  upon  his  decease ; 
from  whence  we  may  infer  that  he  had  no  children :  for 
had  he  had  any,  it  would  have  been  more  natural  to  re- 
present him  as  solicitous  for  their  reformation  by  a  mes- 
senger from  the  dead,  than  for  that  of  his  brothers.  He 
seems,  therefore,  like  some  of  our  unhappy  modern  rakes, 
just  to  have  come  to  his  estate,  and  to  have  abandoned 
himself  to  such  a  course  of  debaucheries  as  soon  shat- 
tered his  constitution,  and  brought  him  down  to  the  grave, 
and  alas !  to  hell,  in  the  bloom  of  life,  when  they  were 
far  from  his  thoughts.  May  this  be  a  warning  to  all  of 
his  age  and  circumstances ! 

Whether,  from  some  remaining  affection  to  his  brethren, 
or  (which  is  more  likely)  from  a  fear  that  they  who  had 
shared  with  him  in  sin  would  increase  his  torment,  should 
they  descend  to  him  in  the  infernal  prison,  he  is  solicitous 
that  Lazarus  might  be  sent  as  an  apostle  from  the  dead  to 
warn  them.  His  petition  is  to  this  purpose :  "  Since  no 
request  in  my  own  favour  can  be  granted ;  since  I  cannot 
obtain  the  poor  favour  of  a  drop  of  water  to  cool  my 
flaming  tongue,  let  me  at  least  make  one  request  in  behalf 
of  those  that  are  as  yet  in  the  land  of  hope,  and  not  be- 
yond the  reach  of  mercy.  In  my  father's  house  I  have  five 
brethren,  gay,  thoughtless,  young  creatures,  who  are  now 
rioting  in  those  riches  I  was  forced  to  leave ;  who  interred 
my  mouldering  corpse  in  state,  little  apprehensive  of  the 
doom  of  my  immortal  part;  who  are  now  treading  the 
same  enchanting  paths  of  pleasure  I  walked  in :  and  will, 
unless  reclaimed,  soon  descend,  like  me,  thoughtless  and 
unprepared,  into  these  doleful  regions :  I  therefore  pray, 
that  thou  wouldest  send  Lazarus  to  alarm  them  in  their 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  75 

wild  career,  with  an  account  of  my  dreadful  doom,  and  in- 
form them  of  the  reality  and  importance  of  everlasting  hap- 
piness and  misery,  that  they  may  reform,  and  so  avoid  this 
place  of  torment,  whence  I  can  never  escape." 

Abraham's  answer  may  be  thus  paraphrased :  "  If  thy 
brothers  perish,  it  will  not  be  for  want  of  means;  they 
enjoy  the  sacred  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  written 
by  Moses  and  the  prophets  ;  and  these  are  sufficient  to  in- 
form them  of  the  necessary  truths  to  regulate  their  prac- 
tice, and  particularly  to  warn  them  of  everlasting  punish- 
ment! Let  them  therefore  hear  and  regard,  study  and 
obey,  those  writings :  for  they  need  no  further  means  for 
their  salvation." 

To  this  the  wretched  creature  replies,  "Nay,  father 
Abraham,  these  means  will  not  avail ;  I  enjoyed  them  all ; 
and  yet  here  I  am,  a  lost  soul ;  and  I  am  afraid  they  will 
have  as  little  effect  upon  them  as  they  had  upon  me. 
These  means  are  common  and  familiar,  and  therefore  dis- 
regarded. But  if  one  arose  from  the  dead,  if  an  apostle 
from  the  invisible  world  was  sent  to  them,  to  declare  as  an 
eye-witness  the  great  things  he  has  seen,  surely  they  would 
repent.  The  novelty  and  terror  of  the  apparition  would 
alarm  them.  Their  senses  would  be  struck  with  so  unu- 
sual a  messenger,  and  they  would  be  convinced  of  the 
reality  of  eternal  things;  therefore  I  must  renew  my  re- 
quest; send  Lazarus  to  them  in  all  the  pomp  of  heavenly 
splendour;  Lazarus  whom  they  once  knew  in  so  abject  a 
condition,  and  whom  they  will  therefore  the  more  regard, 
when  they  see  him  appear  in  all  his  present  glory." 

Thus  the  miserable  creature  pleads,  (and  it  is  natural 
for  us  to  wish  for  other  means,  when  those  we  have  en- 
joyed are  ineffectual,  though  it  should  be  through  our  own 
neglect ;)  but,  alas !  he  pleads  in  vain. 

Abraham  continues  inexorable,  and  gives  a  very  good 


76  THE    DIVINE   AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

reason  for  his  denial:  "If  they  pay  no  regard  to  the 
writings  of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  the  standing  revela- 
tion God  has  left  in  his  church,  it  would  be  to  no  purpose 
to  give  them  another:  they  would  not  be  persuaded 
though  one  rose  from  the  dead;  the  same  disposition  that 
renders  them  deaf  to  such  messengers  as  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  would  also  render  them  impersuasible  by  a 
messenger  from  the  dead.  Such  an  one  might  strike 
them  with  a  panic,  but  it  would  soon  be  over,  and  then 
they  would  return  to  their  usual  round  of  pleasures;  they 
would  presently  think  the  apparition  was  but  the  creature 
of  their  own  imagination,  or  some  unaccountable  illusion 
of  their  senses.  If  one  arose  from  the  dead,  he  could  but 
declare  the  same  things  substantially  with  Moses  and  the 
prophets ;  and  he  could  not  speak  with  greater  authority, 
or  give  better  credentials  than  they ;  and  therefore  they 
who  are  not  benefited  by  these  standing  means  must  be 
given  up  as  desperate;  and  God,  for  very  good  reasons, 
will  not  multiply  new  revelations  to  them." 

This  answer  of  Abraham  was  exemplified  when  another 
Lazarus  was  raised  from  the  dead  in  the  very  sight  of  the 
Jews,  and  Christ  burst  the  bands  of  death,  and  gave  them 
incontestible  evidences  of  his  resurrection;  and  yet  after 
all  they  were  not  persuaded,  but  persisted  in  invincible  in- 
fidelity. 

This  parable  was  spoken  before  any  part  of  the  New 
Testament  was  written,  and  added  to  the  sacred  canon; 
and  if  it  might  be  then  asserted,  that  the  standing  reve- 
lation of  God's  will  was  sufficient,  and  that  it  was  needless 
to  demand  farther,  then  much  more  may  it  be  asserted 
now,  when  the  canon  of  the  Scriptures  is  completed,  and 
we  have  received  so  much  additional  light  from  the  New 
Testament.  We  have  not  only  Moses  and  the  prophets, 
but  we  have  also  Christ,  who  is  a  messenger  from  the 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  77 

dead,  and  his  apostles ;  and  therefore,  surely,  "  if  we  do 
not  hear  them,  neither  will  we  be  persuaded,  though  one 
rose  from  the  dead."  The  Gospel  is  the  last  effort  of  the 
grace  of  God  with  a  guilty  world;  and  if  this  has  no 
effect  upon  us,  our  disease  is  incurable  that  refuses  to  be 
healed. 

I  cannot  insist  upon  all  the  important  truths  contained 
in  this  copious  text,  but  only  design, 

I.  To  show  the  sufficiency  of  the  standing  revelation 
of  God's  will  in  the  Scriptures,  to  bring  men  to  repent- 
ance; and, 

II.  To  expose  the  vanity  and  unreasonableness  of  the 
objections  against  this  revelation,  and  of  demanding  an- 
other. 

I.  I  am  to  show  the  sufficiency  of  the  standing  revela- 
tion in  the  Scriptures  to  bring  men  to  repentance. 

If  the  Scriptures  give  us  sufficient  instructions  in  mat- 
ters of  faith,  and  sufficient  directions  in  matters  of  prac- 
tice, if  they  are  attended  with  sufficient  evidences  for  our 
faith,  and  produce  sufficient  excitements  to  influence  our 
practice,  then  they  contain  a  sufficient  revelation;  for  it  is 
for  these  purposes  we  need  a  revelation,  and  a  revelation 
that  answers  these  purposes  has  the  directest  tendency  to 
make  us  truly  religious,  and  bring  us  to  a  happy  immor- 
tality. But  that  the  revelation  in  the  Scriptures,  (par- 
ticularly in  the  New  Testament,  which  I  shall  more  imme- 
diately consider  as  being  the  immediate  foundation  of 
Christianity)  is  sufficient  for  all  these  purposes,  will  be 
evident  from  an  induction  of  particulars. 

1.  The  Scriptures  give  us  sufficient  instructions  what 
we  should  believe,  or  are  a  sufficient  rule  of  faith. 

Religion  cannot  subsist  without  right  notions  of  God 
and  divine  things;  and  entire  ignorance  or  mistakes  in  its 
fundamental  articles  must  be  destructive  of  its  nature ;  and 


78  THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

therefore  a  divine  revelation  must  be  a  collection  of  rays 
of  light,  a  system  of  divine  knowledge;  and  such  we  find 
the  Christian  revelation  to  be,  as  contained  in  the  sacred 
writings. 

In  the  Scriptures  we  find  the  faint  discoveries  of  natural 
reason  illustrated,  its  uncertain  conjectures  determined, 
and  its  mistakes  corrected;  so  that  Christianity  includes 
natural  religion  in  the  greatest  perfection.  But  it  does 
not  rest  here;  it  brings  to  light  things  which  eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of 
man,  1  Cor.  ii.  9 — things,  which  our  feeble  reason  could 
never  have  discovered  without  the  help  of  a  supernatural 
revelation;  and  which  yet  are  of  the  utmost  importance 
for  us  to  know. 

In  the  Scriptures  we  have  the  clearest  and  most 
majestic  account  of  the  nature  and  perfections  of  the  Deity, 
and  of  his  being  the  Creator,  Ruler,  and  Benefactor  of  the 
universe;  to  whom  therefore  all  reasonable  beings  are  un- 
der infinite  obligations. 

In  the  Scriptures  we  have  an  account  of  the  present 
state  of  human  nature,  as  degenerate,  and  a  more  rational 
and  easy  account  of  its  apostacy,  than  could  ever  be  given 
by  the  light  of  nature. 

In  the  Scriptures  too  (which  wound  but  to  cure)  we 
have  the  welcome  account  of  a  method  of  recovery  from 
the  ruins  of  our  apostacy,  through  the  mediation  of  the 
Son  of  God;  there  we  have  the  assurance,  which  we 
could  find  no  where  else,  that  God  is  reconcilable,  and 
willing  to  pardon  penitents  upon  the  account  of  the  obe- 
dience and  sufferings  of  Christ.  There  all  our  anxious 
inquiries,  Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  the  LORD,  and  bow 
myself  before  the  high  God  ?  shall  I  come  before  him  with 
burnt-offerings  ?  &c.,  Micah  vi.  6,  7,  are  satisfactorily  an- 
swered; and  there  the  agonizing  conscience  can  obtain  re- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  79 

lief,  which  might. have  sought  it  in  vain  among  all  the  other 
religions  in  the  world. 

In  the  Scriptures  also,  eternity  and  the  invisible  worlds 
are  laid  open  to  our  view ;  and  "  life  and  immortality  are 
brought  to  light  by  the  Gospel;"  about  which  the  heathen 
sages,  after  all  their  inquiries,  laboured  under  uneasy  sus- 
picions. There  we  are  assured  of  the  state  of  future  re- 
wards and  punishments,  according  to  our  conduct  in  this 
state  of  probation ;  and  the  nature,  perfection,  and  duration 
of  the  happiness  and  misery,  are  described  with  as  much 
accuracy  as  are  necessary  to  engage  us  to  seek  the  one 
and  shun  the  other. 

I  particularize  these  doctrines  of  Christianity  as  a  speci- 
men, or  as  so  many  general  heads,  to  which  many  others 
may  be  reduced;  not  intending  a  complete  enumeration, 
which  would  lead  me  far  beyond  the  bounds  of  one  ser- 
mon ;  and  for  which  my  whole  life  is  not  sufficient.  I 
therefore  proceed  to  add, 

2.  The  Holy  Scriptures  give  us  complete  directions  in 
matters  of  practice,  or  a  sufficient  rule  of  life. 

A  divine  revelation  must  not  be  calculated  merely  to 
amuse  us,  and  gratify  our  curiosity  with  sublime  and  re- 
fined notions  and  speculations,  but  adapted  to  direct  and 
regulate  our  practice,  and  render  us  better  as  well  as 
wiser. 

Accordingly,  the  sacred  writings  give  us  a  complete 
system  of  practical  religion  and  morality.  There,  not  only 
all  the  duties  of  natural  religion  are  inculcated,  but  several 
important  duties,  as  love  to  our  enemies,  humility,  &c., 
are  clearly  discovered,  which  the  feeble  light  of  reason  in 
the  heathen  moralists  did  either  not  perceive  at  all,  or  but 
very  faintly.  In  short,  there  we  are  informed  of  our 
duties  towards  God,  towards  our  neighbours,  and  towards 
ourselves.  The  Scriptures  are  full  of  particular  in- 


80  THE    DIVINE   AUTHORITY   AND    SUFFICIENCY 

junctions  and  directions  to  particular  duties,  lest  we  should 
not  be  sagacious  enough  to  infer  them  from  general  rules ; 
and  sometimes  all  these  duties  are  summed  up  in  some 
short  maxim,  or  general  rule;  which  we  may  easily  re- 
member, and  always  carry  about  with  us.  Such  a  noble 
summary  is  that  which  Christ  has  given  us  of  the  whole 
moral  law ;  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  with  all 
thy  heart,  &c.,  and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself."  Or  that 
all-comprehending  rule  of  our  conduct  towards  one  an- 
other, "Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto 
you,  do  ye  the  same  unto  them." 

What  recommends  these  doctrinal  instructions  and 
practical  directions  is,  that  they  are  plain  and  obvious  to 
common  sense.  It  is  as  much  the  concern  of  the  illiterate 
and  vulgar  to  be  religious,  as  of  the  few  endowed  with  an 
exalted  and  philosophic  genius;  and  consequently,  what- 
ever difficulties  may  be  in  a  revelation  to  exercise  the 
latter,  yet  all  necessary  matters  of  faith  and  practice  must 
be  delivered  in  a  plain  manner,  level  to  the  capacities  of 
the  former;  otherwise  it  would  be  no  revelation  at  all  to 
them  who  stand  in  most  need  of  it.  Accordingly  the  re- 
ligion of  Jesus,  though  it  has  mysteries  equal  and  infinitely 
superior  to  the  largest  capacity,  yet  in  its  necessary  articles 
is  intelligible  to  all  ranks  who  apply  themselves  with 
proper  diligence  to  the  perusal  of  them ;  and  I  dare  affirm, 
that  a  man  of  common  sense,  with  the  assistance  of  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  can  form  a  better  system  of  religion  and 
morality  than  the  wisest  philosopher,  with  all  his  abilities 
and  learning,  can  form  without  this  help.  This  I  dare 
affirm,  because  it  has  been  put  to  trial,  and  attested  by 
matter  of  fact;  for  whoever  is  acquainted  with  the  writings 
of  the  ancient  heathen  philosophers,  cannot  but  be  con- 
vinced, that  amidst  all  their  learning  and  study,  amidst  all 
their  shining  thoughts  and  refined  speculations,  they  had 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  81 

not  such  just  notions  of  God  and  his  perfections,  of  the 
most  acceptable  way  of  worshipping  him,  of  the  duties  of 
morality,  and  of  a  future  state,  as  any  common  Christian 
among  us  has  learned  from  the  Scriptures,  without  any 
uncommon  natural  parts,  without  extensive  learning,  and 
without  such  painful  study  and  close  application  as  the 
heathen  moralists  were  forced  to  use  to  make  their  less 
perfect  discoveries.  In  this  sense  the  least  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  i.  e.,  any  common  Christian,  is  greater  than  all 
the  Socrateses,  the  Platos,  the  Ciceros,  and  the  Senecas  of 
antiquity ;  as  one  that  is  of  a  weak  sight  can  see  more 
clearly  by  the  help  of  day-light,  than  the  clearest  eye  can 
without  it. 

And  by  whom  was  this  vast  treasure  of  knowledge  laid 
up  to  enrich  the  world?  by  whom  were  these  matchless 
writings  composed,  which  furnish  us  with  a  system  of  re- 
ligion and  morality  so  much  more  plain,  so  much  more 
perfect,  than  all  the  famous  sages  of  antiquity  could  frame  ? 
Why,  to  our  astonishment,  they  were  composed  by  a  com- 
pany of  fishermen,  or  persons  not  much  superior;  by 
persons  generally  without  any  liberal  education ;  persons 
who  had  not  devoted  their  lives  to  intellectual  improve- 
ment; persons  of  no  extraordinary  natural  parts,  and 
who  had  not  travelled,  like  the  ancient  philosophers,  to 
gather  up  fragments  of  knowledge  in  different  countries, 
but  who  lived  in  Judea,  a  country  where  learning  was 
but  little  cultivated,  in  comparison  of  Greece  and  Rome. 
These  were  the  most  accomplished  teachers  of  mankind 
that  ever  appeared  in  the  world.  And  can  this  be  ac- 
counted for,  without  acknowledging  their  inspiration  from 
heaven?  If  human  reason  could  have  made  such  disco- 
veries, surely  it  would  have  made  them  by  those  in  whom 
it  was  improved  to  the  greatest  perfection,  and  not  by  a 
company  of  ignorant  mechanics. 
VOL.  I.— 11 


82  THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

The  persons  themselves  declare  that  they  had  not  made 
these  discoveries,  but  were  taught  them  immediately  from 
heaven,  (which  indeed  we  must  have  believed,  though 
they  had  not  told  us  so.)  Now  we  must  believe  their  de- 
claration, and  own  them  inspired,  or  fall  into  this  absur- 
dity. That  a  company  of  illiterate,  wicked,  and  daring 
impostors,  who  were  hardy  enough  to  pretend  themselves 
commissioned  and  inspired  from  God,  have  furnished  us 
with  an  incomparably  more  excellent  system  of  religion 
and  virtue,  than  could  be  furnished  by  all  the  wisest  and 
best  of  the  sons  of  men  beside;  and  he  that  can  believe 
this  may  believe  any  thing ;  and  should  never  more  pre- 
tend that  he  cannot  believe  the  Christian  religion  upon  the 
account  of  the  difficulties  that  attend  it. 

I  have  touched  but  superficially  upon  the  sufficiency  of 
the  Scriptures  as  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice ;  for  to  dwell 
long  upon  this,  would  be  to  fight  without  an  antagonist. 
Our  infidels  reject  the  Christian  religion,  because  they 
suppose  it  requires  them  to  believe  and  practise  too  much, 
rather  than  too  little.  Hence  they  are  for  lopping  off  a 
great  part  of  its  doctrines  and  precepts,  as  superfluities,  or 
incumbrances,  and  forming  a  meagre  skeleton  of  natural 
religion.  Their  intellectual  pride  will  not  stoop  to  be- 
lieve doctrines  which  they  cannot  comprehend ;  and  they 
cannot  bear  such  narrow  bounds  as  the  precepts  of  Chris- 
tianity fix  for  them  in  their  pursuits  of  pleasure,  and 
therefore  they  would  break  these  bands  asunder.  That 
which  they  affect  most  to  complain  of^  is  the  want  of  evi- 
dence to  convince  them  of  the  truth  of  this  ungrateful 
religion;  it  will  therefore  be  necessary  to  prove  more 
largely,  that, 

3.  The  Scriptures  are  attended  with  sufficient  evidences 
of  their  truth  and  divinity. 

It  is  certain  that  as  God  can  accept  no  other  worship 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  83 

than  rational  from  reasonable  creatures,  he  cannot  require 
us  to  believe  a  revelation  to  be  divine  without  sufficient 
reason ;  and  therefore,  when  he  gives  us  a  revelation,  he 
will  attest  it  with  such  evidences  as  will  be  a  sufficient 
foundation  of  our  belief. 

Accordingly  the  Scriptures  are  attested  with  all  the  evi- 
dences intrinsic  and  extrinsic,  which  we  can  reasonably 
desire,  and  with  all  the  evidences  the  nature  of  the  thing 
will  admit. 

As  for  intrinsic  evidences,  many  might  be  mentioned; 
but  I  must  at  present  confine  myself  in  proper  limits.  I 
shall  resume  the  one  I  have  already  hinted  at,  namely, 
that  the  religion  of  the  Bible  has  the  directest  tendency 
to  promote  true  piety  and  solid  virtue  in  the  world ;  it  is 
such  a  religion  as  becomes  a  God  to  reveal ;  such  a  reli- 
gion as  we  might  expect  from  him,  in  case  he  instituted 
any;  a  religion  intended  and  adapted  to  regulate  self-love, 
and  to  diffuse  the  love  of  God  and  man  through  the 
world,  the  only  generous  principles  and  vigorous  springs 
of  a  suitable  conduct  towards  God,  towards  one  another, 
and  towards  ourselves;  a  religion  productive  of  every 
humane,  social,  and  divine  virtue,  and  directly  calculated  to 
banish  all  sin  out  of  the  world ;  to  transform  impiety  into 
devotion;  injustice  and  oppression  into  equity  and  uni- 
versal benevolence ;  and  sensuality  into  sobriety :  a  reli- 
gion infinitely  preferable  to  any  that  has  been  contrived 
by  the  wisest  and  best  of  mortals.  And  whence  do  you 
think  could  this  god-like  religion  proceed?  Does  not  its 
nature  prove  its  origin  divine  ?  Does  it  not  evidently  bear 
the  lineaments  of  its  heavenly  Parent?  Can  you  once 
imagine  that  such  a  pure,  such  a  holy,  such  a  perfect  sys- 
tem, could  be  the  contrivance  of  wicked,  infernal  spirits, 
of  selfish,  artful  priests,  or  politicians,  or  of  a  parcel  of 
daring  impostors,  or  wild  enthusiasts  ?  Could  these  con- 


84  THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

trive  a  religion  so  contrary  to  their  inclination,  so  destruc- 
tive of  their  interest,  and  so  directly  conducing  to  promote 
the  cause  they  abhor?  If  you  can  believe  this,  you  may 
also  believe  that  light  is  the  product  of  darkness,  virtue  of 
vice,  good  of  evil,  &c.  If  such  beings  as  these  had  con- 
trived a  religion,  it  would  have  borne  the  same  appearance 
in  the  Bible  as  it  does  in  Italy  or  Spain,  where  it  is  de- 
generated into  a  mere  trade  for  the  benefit  of  tyrannical 
and  voracious  priests ;  or  it  would  have  been  such  a  reli- 
gion as  that  of  Mahomet,  allowing  its  subjects  to  propa- 
gate it  with  the  sword,  that  they  might  enrich  themselves 
with  the  plunder  of  conquered  nations;  and  indulging 
them  in  the  gratification  of  their  lusts,  particularly  in 
polygamy,  or  the  unbounded  enjoyment  of  women.  This 
religion,  I  fear,  would  suit  the  taste  of  our  licentious  free- 
thinkers much  better  than  the  holy  religion  of  Jesus.  Or 
if  we  should  suppose  Christianity  to  be  the  contrivance 
of  visionary  enthusiasts,  then  it  would  not  be  that  rational 
system  which  it  is,  but  a  huddle  of  fanatical  reveries  and 
ridiculous  whims.  If,  then,  it  could  not  be  the  contriv- 
ance of  such  authors  as  these,  to  whom  shall  we  ascribe 
it?  It  must  have  had  some  author;  for  it  could  not  come 
into  being  without  a  cause,  no  more  than  the  system  of 
the  universe.  Will  you  then  ascribe  it  to  good  men  ? 
But  these  men  were  either  inspired  from  heaven,  or  they 
were  not ;  if  they  were  not,  then  they  could  not  be  good 
men,  but  most  audacious  liars ;  for  they  plainly  declared, 
they  were  divinely  inspired,  and  stood  in  it  to  the  last ; 
which  no  good  man  would  do  if  such  a  declaration  was 
false.  If  they  were  inspired  from  heaven,  then  the  point 
is  gained ;  then  Christianity  is  a  religion  from  God ;  for  to 
receive  a  religion  from  persons  divinely  inspired,  and  to 
receive  it  from  God,  is  the  same  thing. 

Another  intrinsic  evidence  is  that  of  prophecy. 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  85 

Those  future  events  which  are  contingent,  or  which 
shall  be  accomplished  by  causes  that  do  not  now  exist  or 
appear,  cannot  be  certainly  foreknown  or  foretold  by  man, 
as  we  find  by  our  own  experience.  Such  objects  fall 
within  the  compass  of  Omniscience  only;  and  therefore 
when  short-sighted  mortals  are  enabled  to  predict  such 
events  many  years,  and  even  ages  before  they  happen,  it 
is  a  certain  evidence  that  they  are  let  into  the  secrets  of 
heaven,  and  that  God  communicates  to  them  a  knowledge 
which  cannot  be  acquired  by  the  most  sagacious  human 
mind ;  and  this  is  an  evidence  that  the  persons  thus  divinely 
taught  are  the  messengers  of  God,  to  declare  his  will  to 
the  world. 

Now  there  are  numberless  instances  of  such  prophecies 
in  the  sacred  writings.  Thus  a  prophet  foretold  the  de- 
struction of  Jeroboam's  altar  by  the  good  Josiah,  many 
ages  before,  1  Kings  xiii.  2.  Cyrus  was  foretold  by  name 
as  the  restorer  of  the  Jews  from  Babylon,  to  rebuild  their 
temple  and  city,  about  a  hundred  years  before  he  was 
born,  Isaiah  xlv.  1,  &c.  Several  of  the  prophets  foretold 
the  destruction  of  various  kingdoms  in  a  very  punctual 
manner,  as  of  Jerusalem,  Babylon,  Egypt,  Ninevah,  &c., 
which  prediction  was  exactly  fulfilled.  But  the  most  re- 
markable prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  are  those  re- 
lating to  the  Messiah ;  which  are  so  numerous  and  full, 
that  they  might  serve  for  materials  for  his  history ;  they 
fix  the  time  of  his  coming,  viz.,  while  the  sceptre  continued 
in  Judah,  Gen.  xlix.  10,  while  the  second  temple  was  yet 
standing,  Hag.  ii.  7,  Mai.  iii.  1,  and  towards  the  close  of 
Daniel's  seventy  weeks  of  years,  i.  e.,  four  hundred  and 
ninety  years  from  the  rebuilding  of  Jerusalem,  Dan.  ix.  24, 
&c.  These  prophecies  also  describe  the  lineage  of  the 
Messiah,  the  manner  of  his  conception,  his  life  and  mira- 
cles, his  death,  and  the  various  circumstances  of  it;  his 


THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

resurrection,  ascension,  and  advancement  to  universal  em- 
pire, and  the  spread  of  the  gospel  through  the  world.  In 
the  New  Testament  also  we  meet  with  sundry  remarkable 
prophecies.  There  Christ  foretells  his  own  death,  and  the 
manner  of  it,  and  his  triumphant  resurrection ;  there,  with 
surprising  accuracy,  he  predicts  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem by  the  Romans.  We  find  various  prophecies  also  in 
the  apostolic  epistles,  particularly  that  of  St.  Paul,  Rom. 
xi.,  concerning  the  conversion  of  the  Jews ;  which,  though 
it  be  not  yet  accomplished,  yet  we  see  a  remarkable  pro- 
vidence making  way  for  it,  in  keeping  the  Jews,  who  are 
scattered  over  all  the  earth,  distinct  from  all  other  nations 
for  about  one  thousand  seven  hundred  years,  though  they 
are  hated  of  all  nations,  and  consequently  under  the 
strongest  temptation  to  coalesce  with,  and  lose  themselves 
among  them ;  and  though  all  other  nations  have  in  a  much 
shorter  time  mixed  in  such  a  manner,  that  none  of  them 
can  now  trace  their  own  original ;  e.  g.,  who  can  now  dis- 
tinguish the  posterity  of  the  ancient  Romans  from  the 
Goths  and  Vandals,  and  others  that  broke  in  upon  their 
empire  and  settled  among  them ;  or  of  the  ancient  Angli 
from  the  Danes,  &c.,  that  mingled  with  them  1 

These  and  many  other  plain  predictions  are  interspersed 
through  the  Scriptures,  and  prove  their  original  to  be  from 
the  Father  of  lights,  who  alone  knows  all  his  works  from 
the  beginning,  and  who  declares  such  distant  contingent 
futurities  from  ancient  times.  Isaiah  xlv.  21. 

I  might,  as  another  intrinsic  evidence  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity,  mention  its  glorious  energy  on  the  minds  of 
men,  in  convincing  them  of  sin,  easing  their  consciences, 
inspiring  them  with  unspeakable  joy,  subduing  their  lusts, 
and  transforming  them  into  its  own  likeness;  which  is  at- 
tested by  the  daily  experience  of  every  true  Christian. 
Every  one  that  believeth  hath  this  witness  in  himself:  and 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  87 

this  is  an  evidence  level  to  the  meanest  capacity,  which 
may  be  soon  lost  in  the  course  of  sublime  reasoning.  But 
as  the  deists  declare,  alas!  with  too  much  truth,  that  the 
gospel  hath  no  such  power  upon  them,  it  is  not  to  my 
purpose  to  insist  upon  it. 

I  therefore  proceed  to  mention  some  of  the  extrinsic 
evidences  of  the  religion  of  Jesus,  particularly  the  miracles 
with  which  it  was  confirmed,  and  its  early  propagation 
through  the  world. 

Miracles  of  this  case  are  events  above  or  contrary 
to  the  established  law  of  nature,  done  with  a  professed 
design  to  attest  a  revelation;  and  as  they  are  obvious 
and  striking  to  the  senses  of  the  most  ignorant  and 
unthinking,  they  are  the  most  popular  and  convictive 
evidences,  adapted  to  the  generality  of  mankind,  who 
are  incapable  of  a  long  train  of  argumentation,  or  of 
perceiving  the  origin  of  a  religion  from  its  nature  and 
tendency. 

Now  the  religion  of  Jesus  is  abundantly  attested  with 
this  kind  of  evidence.  The  history  of  the  life  of  Jesus 
and  his  apostles  is  one  continued  series  of  miracles.  Sight 
was  restored  to  the  blind,  the  deaf  were  enabled  to  hear, 
the  lame  to  walk,  the  maimed  furnished  with  new-created 
limbs,  the  sick  healed,  the  rage  of  winds  and  seas  con- 
trolled, yea,  the  dead  were  raised;  and  all  this  with  an  air 
of  sovereignty,  such  as  became  a  God;  the  apostles  were 
also  endowed  with  miraculous  powers,  enabled  to  speak 
with  tongues,  and  to  communicate  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
others.  These  miracles  were  done  not  in  a  corner,  but  in 
the  most  public  places,  before  numerous  spectators,  friends 
and  foes :  and  the  persons  that  wrought  them  appealed  to 
them  as  the  evidences  of  their  divine  mission:  and  the 
account  of  them  is  conveyed  down  to  us  by  the  best 
medium,  written  tradition,  in  a  history  that  bears  all  the 


00  THE   DIVINE   AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

evidences  of  credibility,  of  which  any  composition  of  that 
kind  is  capable. 

Another  extrinsic  evidence  of  the  truth  of  Christianity 
is  its  extensive  propagation  through  the  world  in  the  most 
unpromising  circumstances. 

The  only  religion,  besides  the  Christian,  which  has  had 
any  very  considerable  spread  in  the  world,  is  that  of 
Mahomet;  but  we  may  easily  account  for  this,  without 
supposing  it  divine,  from  its  nature,  as  indulging  the  lusts 
of  men;  and  especially  from  the  manner  of  its  propagation, 
not  by  the  force  of  evidence,  but  by  the  force  of  arms. 
But  the  circumstances  of  the  propagation  of  Christianity 
were  quite  otherwise,  whether  we  consider  its  contrariety 
to  the  corruptions,  prejudices,  and  interests  of  men;  the 
easiness  of  detecting  it,  had  it  been  false;  the  violent  op- 
position it  met  with  from  all  the  powers  of  the  earth;  the 
instruments  of  its  propagation;  or  the  measures  they  took 
for  that  purpose. 

Christianity  is  directly  contrary  to  the  corruptions, 
prejudices,  and  interests  of  mankind.  It  grants  no  in- 
dulgence to  the  corrupt  propensities  of  a  degenerate 
world;  but  requires  that  universal  holiness  of  heart  and 
life  which,  as  we  find  by  daily  observation,  is  so  ungrateful 
to  them,  and  which  is  the  principal  reason  that  the  religion 
of  Jesus  meets  with  so  much  contempt  and  opposition  in 
every  age. 

When  Christianity  was  first  propagated,  all  nations  had 
been  educated  in  some  other  religion;  the  Jews  were  at- 
tached to  Moses,  and  the  Gentiles  to  their  various  systems 
of  heathenism,  and  were  all  of  them  very  zealous  for  their 
own  religion;  but  Christianity  proposed  a  new  scheme, 
and  could  not  take  place  without  antiquating  or  exploding 
all  other  religions;  and  therefore  it  was  contrary  to  the 
inveterate  prejudices  of  all  mankind,  and  could  never  have 


OF    THE   CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  89 

been  so  generally  received,  if  it  had  not  brought  with  it 
the  most  evident  credentials ;  especially  considering  that 
some  of  its  doctrines  were  such  as  seemed  to  the  Jews  a 
stumbling-block,  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness;  particu- 
larly that  one  of  obscure  birth  and  low  life,  who  was  pub- 
licly executed  as  a  slave  and  malefactor,  should  be  wor- 
shipped and  honoured  as  God,  upon  pain  of  everlasting 
damnation;  and  that  there  should  be  a  resurrection  of  the 
dead :  the  last  of  which  was  an  object  of  ridicule  to  all  the 
wits  and  philosophers  of  the  heathen  world.  Again,  as 
some  religion  or  other  was  established  in  all  nations,  there 
were  many,  like  Demetrius  and  his  craftsmen,  whose  tem- 
poral livings  and  interest  depended  upon  the  continuance 
of  their  religion;  and  if  that  was  changed,  they  fell  into 
poverty  and  disgrace.  There  was  a  powerful  party  in 
every  nation,  and  they  would  exert  themselves  to  prevent 
the  spread  of  an  innovation  so  dangerous  to  their  interest, 
which  we  find  by  all  histories  of  those  times  they  actually 
did: — and  yet  the  despised  religion  of  Jesus  triumphed 
over  all  their  opposition,  and  maintained  its  credit  in  spite 
of  all  their  endeavours  to  detect  it  as  an  imposture;  and 
this  proves  it  was  not  an  imposture;  for, 

In  the  next  place,  it  was  easy  to  have  detected  Chris- 
tianity as  an  imposture,  nay,  it  was  impossible  it  should  not 
have  been  detected,  if  it  had  been  such;  for  the  great  facts 
upon  which  the  evidence  of  it  rested,  were  said  to  be  ob- 
vious and  public,  done  before  thousands  and  in  all 
countries ;  for  wherever  the  apostles  travelled  they  carried 
their  miraculous  powers  along  with  them.  Thousands 
must  know  whether  Christ  had  fed  many  thousands  with 
provisions  only  sufficient  for  a  few;  whether  Lazarus  was 
raised  from  the  dead  before  the  admiring  multitude; 
whether  the  apostles  spoke  with  tongues  to  those  various 
nations  among  whom  they  endeavoured  to  propagate  their 
VOL.  I.— 12 


90  THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

religion,  (as  indeed  they  must  have  done,  otherwise  they 
would  not  have  been  understood.)  These  things,  and 
many  others,  upon  which  the  evidence  of  Christianity  de- 
pends, were  public  in  their  own  nature ;  and  therefore,  if 
they  had  not  been  matters  of  fact,  the  cheat  must  have 
been  unavoidably  detected,  especially  when  so  many  were 
concerned  to  detect  it. 

Farther:  Christianity  met  with  the  most  strenuous  op- 
position from  all  the  powers  of  the  earth.  The  Jewish 
rulers  and  most  of  the  populace  were  implacable  enemies; 
and  as  they  lived  on  the  spot  where  its  miraculous  attesta- 
tions were  said  to  be  given,  it  was  in  their  power  to  crush 
it  in  its  birth,  and  never  have  suffered  it  to  spread  farther, 
had  it  not  been  attended  with  invincible  evidence.  All 
the  power  of  the  Roman  empire  was  also  exerted  for  its 
extirpation ;  and  its  propagators  and  disciples  could  expect 
no  profit  or  pleasure  by  it,  but  were  assured,  from  the 
posture  of  affairs,  from  daily  experience,  and  from  the  pre- 
dictions of  their  Master,  that  they  should  meet  with  shame, 
persecution,  and  death  itself,  in  its  most  tremendous 
shapes;  and  in  the  next  world  they  could  expect  nothing, 
even  according  to  their  own  doctrine,  but  everlasting 
damnation,  if  they  were  wilful  impostors ;  and  yet,  in  spite 
of  all  these  discouragements,  they  courageously  persisted 
in  their  testimony  to  the  last,  though  they  might  have 
secured  their  lives,  and  helped  their  fortune  (as  Judas  did) 
by  retracting  it;  nay,  their  testimony  prevailed,  in  defiance 
of  all  opposition;  multitudes  in  all  nations  then  known  em- 
braced the  faith;  though  they  expected  tortures  and  death 
for  it;  and  in  a  few  centuries,  the  vast  and  mighty  Roman 
empire  submitted  to  the  religion  of  a  crucified  Jesus.  And 
who  were  those  mighty  heroes  that  thus  triumphed  over 
the  world?  Why,  to  our  surprise, 

The  instruments  of  the  propagation  of  Christianity  were 


OF    THE   CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  91 

a  company  of  poor  mechanics,  publicans,  tent-makers,  and 
fishermen,  from  the  despised  nation  of  the  Jews.  And  by 
what  strange  powers  or  arts  did  they  make  these  extensive 
conquests  ? 

The  measures  they  took  were  a  plain  declaration  of 
their  religion ;  and  they  wrought  miracles  for  its  confir- 
mation. They  did  not  use  the  power  of  the  sword,  nor 
secular  terrors,  or  bribery;  they  were  without  learning, 
without  the  arts  of  reasoning  and  persuasion;  and  without 
all  the  usual  artifices  of  seducers  to  gain  credit  to  their 
imposture. 

Here  I  cannot  but  take  particular  notice  of  that  match- 
less simplicity  that  appears  in  the  history  of  Christ  and  his 
apostles.  The  evangelists  write  in  that  artless,  calm,  and 
unguarded  manner,  which  is  natural  to  persons  confident 
of  the  undeniable  truth  of  what  they  assert;  they  do  not 
write  with  that  scrupulous  caution  which  would  argue  any 
fear  that  they  might  be  confuted.  They  simply  relate  the 
naked  facts,  and  leave  them  to  stand  upon  their  own 
evidence.  They  relate  the  most  amazing,  the  most 
moving  things,  with  the  most  cool  serenity,  without  any 
passionate  exclamations  and  warm  reflections.  For  ex- 
ample, they  relate  the  most  astonishing  miracles,  as  the 
resurrection  of  Lazarus,  in  the  most  simple,  and,  as  it 
were,  careless  manner,  without  breaking  out  and  cele- 
brating the  divine  power  of  Christ.  In  the  same  manner 
they  relate  the  most  tragical  circumstances  of  his  con- 
demnation and  death,  calmly  mentioning  matter  of  fact, 
without  any  invectives  against  the  Jews,  without  any  high 
eulogies  upon  Christ's  innocence,  without  any  rapturous 
celebrations  of  his  grace  in  suffering  all  these  things  for 
sinners,  and  without  any  tender  lamentations  over  their 
deceased  Master.  It  is  impossible  for  a  heart  so  deeply 
impressed  with  such  things,  as  theirs  undoubtedly  were,  to 


92  THE   DIVINE   AUTHORITY   AND    SUFFICIENCY 

retain  this  dispassionate  serenity,  unless  laid  under  super- 
natural restraints;  and  there  appears  very  good  reasons 
for  this  restraint  upon  them,  viz.,  that  the  gospel  history 
might  carry  intrinsic  evidences  of  its  simplicity  and  artless 
impartiality;  and  that  it  might  appear  adapted  to  convince 
the  judgments  of  men,  and  not  merely  to  raise  their  pas- 
sions. In  this  respect,  the  gospel-history  is  distinguished 
from  all  histories  in  the  world:  and  can  we  think  so  plain, 
so  undisguised,  so  artless  a  composure,  the  contrivance  of 
designing  impostors?  Would  not  a  consciousness  that 
they  might  be  detected  keep  them  more  upon  their  guard, 
and  make  them  more  ready  to  anticipate  and  confine  ob- 
jections, and  take  every  artifice  to  recommend  their  cause, 
and  prepossess  the  reader  in  its  favour  ? 

It  only  remains  under  this  head,  that  I  should 

4.  Show  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  proposes  sufficient 
excitements  to  influence  our  faith  and  practice. 

To  enforce  a  system  of  doctrines  and  precepts,  two 
things  are  especially  necessary;  that  they  should  be  made 
duty  by  competent  authority,  and  matters  of  interest  by 
a  sanction  of  rewards  and  punishments.  To  which  I  may 
add,  that  the  excitements  are  still  stronger,  when  we  are 
laid  under  the  gentle  obligations  of  gratitude.  In  all  these 
respects  the  Christian  religion  has  the  most  powerful  en- 
forcements. 

The  authority  upon  which  we  are  required  to  receive 
the  doctrines,  and  observe  the  precepts  of  Christianity, 
is  no  less  than  the  authority  of  God,  the  supreme  Law- 
giver and  infallible  Teacher;  whose  wisdom  to  prescribe, 
and  right  to  command,  are  indisputable;  and  we  may 
safely  submit  our  understandings  to  his  instructions,  how- 
ever mysterious,  and  our  wills  to  his  injunctions,  however 
difficult  they  may  seem  to  us.  This  gives  the  religion  of 
Jesus  a  binding  authority  upon  the  consciences  of  men; 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  93 

which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  bring  piety  and  virtue 
into  practice  in  the  world;  for  if  men  are  left  at  liberty, 
they  will  follow  their  own  inclinations,  however  wicked 
and  pernicious.  And  in  this  respect,  Christianity  bears  a 
glorious  preference  to  all  the  systems  of  morality  com- 
posed by  the  heathen  philosophers;  for  though  there  were 
many  good  things  in  them,  yet  who  gave  authority  to 
Socrates,  Plato,  or  Seneca,  to  assume  the  province  of  law- 
givers, and  dictators  to  mankind,  and  prescribe  to  their 
consciences?  All  they  could  do  was  to  teach,  to  advise,  to 
persuade,  to  reason;  but  mankind  were  at  liberty,  after  all, 
whether  to  take  their  advice  or  not.  And  this  shows  the 
necessity  of  supernatural  revelation  not  merely  to  make 
known  things  beyond  human  apprehension,  but  to  enforce 
with  proper  authority  such  duties  as  might  be  discovered  by 
man;  since  without  it  they  would  not  have  the  binding  force 
of  a  law. 

As  to  the  sanction  of  rewards  and  punishments  in  Chris- 
tianity, they  are  such  as  became  a  God  to  annex  to  his 
majestic  law,  such  as  are  agreeable  to  creatures  formed 
for  immortality,  and  such  as  would  have  the  most  effectual 
tendency  to  encourage  obedience,  and  prevent  sin;  they 
are  no  less  than  the  most  perfect  happiness  and  misery, 
which  human  nature  is  capable  of,  and  that  through  an 
endless  duration.  If  these  are  not  sufficient  to  allure 
rational  creatures  to  obedience,  then  no  considerations  that 
can  be  proposed  can  have  any  effect.  These  tend  to 
alarm  our  hopes  and  our  fears,  the  most  vigorous  springs 
of  human  activity:  and  if  these  have  no  effect  upon  us, 
nothing  that  God  can  reveal,  or  our  minds  conceive,  will 
have  any  effect.  God,  by  adding  the  greatest  sanctions 
possible  to  his  law,  has  taken  the  best  possible  precautions 
to  prevent  disobedience;  and  since  even  these  do  not  re- 
strain men  from  it,  we  are  sure  that  less  would  not  suffice. 


94  THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

If  men  will  go  on  in  sin,  though  they  believe  the  punish- 
ment due  to  it  will  be  eternal,  then  much  more  would 
they  persist  in  it,  if  it  were  not  eternal ;  or,  if  they  say 
they  will  indulge  themselves  in  sin,  because  they  believe 
it  not  eternal,  then  this  proves  from  their  own  mouth,  that 
it  should  be  eternal  in  order  to  restrain  them.  The 
prevalence  of  sin  in  the  world  tends  to  render  it  miser- 
able; and  therefore,  to  prevent  it,  as  well  as  to  display 
God's  eternal  regard  to  moral  goodness,  it  is  fit  that  he 
should  annex  the  highest  degree  of  punishment  to  disobe- 
dience in  every  individual ;  for  the  indulgence  of  sin  in  one 
individual  would  be  a  temptation  to  the  whole  rational 
creation ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  threatenings  of  ever- 
lasting punishment  to  all  sinners  indefinitely,  is  necessary 
to  deter  the  whole  rational  world,  and  every  particular 
person  from  disobedience.  Thus  in  civil  government,  it 
is  necessary  that  robbery  should  be  threatened  indefinitely 
with  death,  because  though  one  robber  may  take  from  a  man 
but  what  he  can  very  well  spare;  yet,  if  every  man  might 
rob  and  plunder  his  neighbour,  the  consequence  would 
be  universal  robbery  and  confusion.  It  is  therefore  neces- 
sary that  the  greatest  punishment  should  be  threatened  to 
disobedience,  both  to  prevent  it,  and  to  testify  the  divine 
displeasure  against  it;  which  is  the  primary  design  of  the 
threatening ;  and  since  the  penalty  was  annexed  with  this 
view,  it  follows,  that  it  was  primarily  enacted  with  a 
view  to  the  happiness  of  mankind,  by  preventing  what 
would  naturally  make  them  miserable,  and  but  secondarily 
with  a  view  to  be  executed ;  for  it  is  to  be  executed  only 
upon  condition  of  disobedience ;  which  disobedience  it  was 
intended  to  prevent,  and  consequently  it  was  not  immedi- 
ately intended  to  be  executed,  or  enacted  for  the  sake  of 
the  execution,  as  though  God  took  a  malignant  pleasure 
in  the  misery  of  his  creatures.  But  when  the  penalty  has 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  95 

failed  of  its  primary  end,  restraining  from  sin,  then  it  is  fit 
it  should  answer  its  secondary  end,  and  be  executed  upon 
the  offender,  to  keep  the  rest  of  reasonable  creatures  in 
their  obedience,  to  illustrate  the  veracity  and  holiness  of 
the  lawgiver,  and  prevent  his  government  from  falling  into 
contempt.  There  are  the  same  reasons  that  threatenings 
should  be  executed  when  denounced,  as  for  their  being 
denounced  at  first;  for  threatenings  never  executed,  are 
the  same  with  no  threatenings  at  all. 

Let  me  add,  that  the  gospel  lays  us  under  the  strongest 
obligations  from  gratitude.  It  not  only  clearly  informs  us 
of  our  obligations  to  God,  as  the  author  of  our  being,  and 
all  our  temporal  blessings,  which  natural  religion  more 
faintly  discovers,  but  superadds  those  more  endearing  ones 
derived  from  the  scheme  of  man's  redemption  through  the 
death  of  the  eternal  Son  of  God.  Though  the  blessings 
of  creation  and  providence  are  great  in  themselves,  they 
are  swallowed  up,  as  it  were,  and  lost  in  the  love  of  God ; 
which  is  commended  to  us  by  this  matchless  circumstance, 
"  that  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us ;"  and 
while  under  the  constraints  of  this  love,  we  cannot  but 
devote  ourselves  entirely  to  God,  2  Cor.  v.  14,  15. 

Thus  I  have  hinted  at  a  few  things  among  the  many 
that  might  be  mentioned  to  prove  the  divinity  of  the  reli- 
gion of  Jesus,  and  its  sufficiency  to  bring  men  to  repent- 
ance and  salvation.  And  if  it  be  so,  why  should  it  be  re- 
jected, or  another  sought?  This  reminds  me  that  I  pro- 
mised, 

II.  To  expose  the  vanity  and  unreasonableness  of  the 
objection  against  the  Christian  religion,  or  of  demanding 
another,  &c. 

What  can  our  ingenious  infidels  offer  against  what  has 
been  said?  It  must  be  something  very  weighty  indeed  to 
preponderate  all  this  evidence.  A  laugh,  or  a  sneer,  a 


96  THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

pert  witticism,  declaiming  against  priestcraft  and  the  preju- 
dices of  education,  artful  evasions,  and  shallow  sophisms, 
the  usual  arguments  of  our  pretended  free-thinkers,  these 
will  not  suffice  to  banter  us  out  of  our  joyful  confidence 
of  the  divinity  of  the  religion  of  Jesus ;  and  I  may  add, 
these  will  not  suffice  to  indemnify  them.  Nothing  will  be 
sufficient  for  this  but  demonstration :  it  lies  upon  them  to 
prove  the  Christian  religion  to  be  certainly  false :  other- 
wise, unless  they  are  hardened  to  a  prodigy,  they  must  be 
racked  with  anxious  fears  lest  they  should  find  it  true  to 
their  cost;  and  lest  that  dismal  threatening  should  stand 
firm  against  them  :  "He  that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned" 
What  mighty  objections,  then,  have  they  to  offer?  Will 
they  say  that  the  Christian  religion  contains  mysterious 
doctrines,  which  they  cannot  comprehend,  which  seem  to 
them  unaccountable?  As  that  of  the  trinity,  the  incarna- 
tion, and  satisfaction  of  Christ,  &c.  But  will  they  ad- 
vance their  understanding  to  be  the  universal  standard  of 
truth  ?  Will  they  pretend  to  comprehend  the  infinite  God, 
in  their  finite  minds?  then  let  them  go,  and  measure  the 
heavens  with  a  span,  and  comprehend  the  ocean  in  the 
hollow  of  their  hand.  Will  they  pretend  to  understand 
the  divine  nature,  when  they  cannot  understand  their  own  ? 
when  they  cannot  account  for  or  explain  the  union  betwixt 
their  own  souls  and  bodies?  Will  they  reject  mysteries 
in  Christianity,  when  they  must  own  them  in  every  thing 
else  ?  Let  them  first  solve  all  the  phenomena  in  nature ;  let 
them  give  us  a  rational  theory  of  the  infinite  divisibility 
of  a  piece  of  finite  matter ;  let  them  account  for  the  seem- 
ingly magical  operation  of  the  loadstone;  the  circulation 
of  the  blood  upwards  as  well  as  downwards,  contrary  to  all 
the  laws  of  motion ;  let  them  inform  us  of  the  causes  of 
the  cohesion  of  the  particles  of  matter;  let  them  tell  us, 
how  spirits  can  receive  ideas  from  material  organs ;  how 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  97 

they  hear  and  see,  &c. :  let  them  give  us  intelligible  theo- 
ries of  these  things,  and  then  they  may,  with  something 
of  a  better  grace,  set  up  for  critics  upon  God  and  his 
ways;  but,  while  they  are  mysteries  to  themselves,  while 
every  particle  of  matter  baffles  their  understandings,  it  is 
the  most  impious  intellectual  pride  to  reject  Christianity 
upon  the  account  of  its  mysteries,  and  set  up  themselves  as 
the  supreme  judges  of  truth. 

Or  will  they  object  that  there  are  a  great  many  difficult 
and  strange  passages  in  Scripture,  the  meaning  and  pro- 
priety of  which  they  do  not  see?  And  are  there  not 
many  strange  things  in  the  book  of  nature,  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  Providence,  the  design  and  use  of  which 
they  cannot  see,  many  things  that  to  them  seem  wrong 
and  ill-contrived?  Yet  they  own  the  world  was  created 
by  God,  and  that  his  providence  rules  it :  and  why  will 
they  not  allow  that  the  Scriptures  may  be  from  God,  not- 
withstanding these  difficulties  and  seeming  incongruities? 
When  a  learned  man  can  easily  raise  his  discourse  above 
the  capacity  of  common  people,  will  they  not  condescend 
to  grant  that  an  infinite  God  can  easily  overshoot  their 
little  souls?  Indeed  a  revelation  which  we  could  fully 
comprehend,  would  not  appear  the  production  of  an  infi- 
nite mind ;  it  would  bear  no  resemblance  to  its  heavenly 
Father;  and  therefore  we  should  have  reason  to  suspect 
it  spurious.  It  is  necessary  we  should  meet  with  difficul- 
ties in  the  Scriptures  to  mortify  our  pride.  But  farther, 
will  they  make  no  allowance  for  the  different  customs  and 
practices  of  different  ages?  It  is  certain,  that  may  be 
proper  and  graceful  in  one  age  which  would  be  ridiculous 
and  absurd  in  another;  and  since  the  Scriptures  were 
written  so  many  years  ago,  we  may  safely  make  this  allow- 
ance for  them,  which  will  remove  many  seeming  absurdi- 
ties. There  should  also  allowance  be  made  for  the  Scrip- 
VOL.  I.— 13 


98  THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

tures  being  rendered  literally  out  of  dead,  difficult  lan- 
guages ;  for  we  know  that  many  expressions  may  be  beau- 
tiful and  significant  in  one  language,  which  would  be  ridi- 
culous and  nonsensical  if  literally  translated  into  another. 
Were  Homer  or  Virgil  thus  translated  into  English,  with- 
out regard  to  the  idiom  of  the  language,  instead  of  admir- 
ing their  beauties,  we  should  be  apt  to  think  (as  Cowley 
expresses  it)  "that  one  madman  had  translated  another 
madman." 

Will  they  object  the  wicked  lives  of  its  professors  against 
the  holiness  and  good  tendency  of  Christianity  itself?  But 
is  it  Christianity,  as  practised  in  the  world,  or  Christianity 
as  taught  by  Christ  and  his  apostles,  and  continued  in  the 
Bible,  that  I  am  proving  to  be  divine?  You  know  it  is 
the  latter,  and  consequently  the  poor  appearance  it  makes 
in  the  former  sense,  is  no  argument  against  its  purity  and 
divinity  in  this.  Again,  are  the  bad  lives  of  professors 
taught  and  enjoined  by  genuine  Christianity,  and  agree- 
able to  it?  No;  they  are  quite  contrary  to  it,  and  sub- 
versive of  it;  and  it  is  so  far  from  encouraging  such  pro- 
fessors, that  it  pronounces  them  miserable  hypocrites ;  and 
their  doom  will  be  more  severe  than  that  of  heathens. 
Again,  are  there  not  hypocritical  professors  of  morality 
and  natural  religion,  as  well  as  of  revealed  ?  Are  there  not 
many  who  cry  up  morality  and  religion  of  nature,  and  yet 
boldly  violate  its  plainest  precepts  ?  If  therefore  this  be 
a  sufficient  objection  against  Christianity,  it  must  be  so  too 
against  all  religion.  Further:  do  men  grow  better  by 
renouncing  the  religion  of  Jesus?  Observation  assures 
us  quite  the  contrary.  Finally,  are  there  not  some  of  the 
professors  of  Christianity  who  live  habitually  according  to 
it?  who  give  us  the  best  patterns  of  piety  and  virtue  that 
ever  were  exhibited  to  the  world?  This  is  sufficient  to 
vindicate  the  religion  they  profess,  and  it  is  highly  inju- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN   RELIGION.  99 

rious  to  involve  such  promiscuously  in  the  odium  and  con- 
tempt due  to  barefaced  hypocrites.  How  would  this  rea- 
soning please  the  Deists  themselves  in  parallel  cases? 
"  Some  that  have  no  regard  to  Christianity  have  been 
murderers,  thieves,  &c.,  therefore  all  that  disregard  it  are 
such."  Or  "  some  that  pretended  to  be  honest,  have  been 
found  villains ;  therefore  all  that  pretend  to  it  are  such ; 
or  therefore  honesty  is  no  virtue." 

Or  will  they  change  the  note,  and  instead  of  pleading 
that  Christianity  leads  to  licentiousness,  object  that  it  bears 
too  hard  upon  the  pleasures  of  mankind,  and  lays  them 
under  too  severe  restraints?  Or  that  its  penalties  are  ex- 
cessive and  cruel?  But  does  it  rob  mankind  of  any  plea- 
sures worthy  the  rational  nature,  worthy  the  pursuit  of 
creatures  formed  for  immortality,  and  consistent  with  the 
good  of  the  whole  ?  It  restrains  them  indeed ;  but  it  is  only 
as  a  physician  restrains  his  patient  from  poison  or  any  im- 
proper regimen ;  it  restrains  men  from  living  like  beasts ; 
it  restrains  them  from  those  pleasures  which  will  ruin  their 
souls  and  bodies  in  the  event ;  it  restrains  them  from  grati- 
fying a  private  passion  at  the  expense  of  the  public ;  in 
short,  it  restrains  them  from  making  themselves  and  others 
miserable.  Hard  restraint  indeed !  and  the  Deists,  to  be 
sure,  are  generous  patrons  of  human  liberty,  who  would 
free  us  from  such  grievances  as  these !  However,  this 
objection  lets  us  into  the  secret,  and  informs  us  of  the 
reason  why  our  pretended  free-thinkers  are  such  enemies 
to  Christianity ;  it  is  because  it  checks  their  lusts,  and  will 
not  permit  them  to  act,  as  well  as  think  freely,  i.  e.,  as  they 
please.  If  they  would  content  themselves  with  manly  and 
rational  pleasures,  they  would  not  count  the  restraints  of 
Christianity  intolerable;  nay,  they  would  find  in  it  a  set 
of  peculiarly  noble  and  refined  pleasures,  which  they  might 
seek  in  vain  elsewhere ;  for  it  is  so  far  from  being  an  enemy 


100          THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY   AND    SUFFICIENCY 

to  the  happiness  of  man,  that  it  was  designed  to  promote 
it;  and  then  we  make  ourselves  miserable  when  we  reject 
it,  or  it  becomes  our  interest  that  it  should  be  false.  As 
to  the  penalty  of  everlasting  punishment  annexed  to  sin, 
which  is  but  a  temporal  evil,  I  would  ask  them  whether 
they  are  competent  judges  in  a  matter  in  which  they  are 
parties?  Are  they  capable  to  determine  what  degree  of 
punishment  should  be  inflicted  upon  disobedience  to  the 
infinite  Majesty  of  heaven,  when  they  are  not  only  short- 
sighted creatures,  but  also  concerned  in  the  affair,  and 
their  judgments  may  be  perverted  by  self-interest  ?  Whe- 
ther it  is  most  fit  that  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  should 
determine  this  point,  or  a  company  of  malefactors,  as 
they  are?  Is  it  allowed  to  criminals  in  civil  courts  to  de- 
termine their  own  doom,  or  pronounce  their  own  sentence  ? 
If  it  were,  few  of  them  would  be  punished  at  all,  and  go- 
vernment would  fall  into  contempt.  Again,  let  me  remind 
them,  that  the  penalty  was  annexed  to  prevent  disobedience, 
and  so  to  render  the  execution  needless ;  and  consequently 
it  was  primarily  intended  for  their  good.  Why  then 
will  they  frustrate  this  design,  and,  when  they  have  ren- 
dered the  execution  necessary,  complain  of  its  severity? 
If  they  think  the  penalty  so  terrible,  let  them  watch 
against  sin,  let  them  accept  the  salvation  the  gospel  offers, 
and  so  avoid  it  instead  of  quarreling  with  its  severity,  and 
yet  rushing  upon  it.  Or,  if  they  say  they  will  persist  in 
sin  because  they  do  not  believe  the  punishment  is  eternal ; 
this  gives  me  room  to  appeal  to  themselves  whether  a  less 
penalty  than  everlasting  misery  would  be  sufficient  to  re- 
strain them  from  sin ;  and  whether  God  would  have  taken 
all  proper  precautions  to  prevent  sin,  if  he  had  annexed  a 
less  punishment  to  his  law,  since  by  their  own  confession, 
nothing  less  could  deter  them  from  it.  I  shall  only  add, 
that  as  the  human  soul  must  always  exist,  and  as  by  in- 


OF    THE   CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  101 

dulgence  in  sin  in  the  present  state  it  contracts  such 
habits  as  render  it  incapable  of  happiness  in  the  holy  en- 
joyment of  the  heavenly  world,  it  must  by  a  natural 
necessity  be  for  ever  miserable,  though  God  should  not 
exert  any  positive  act  for  its  punishment.  And  if  the 
Deists  say,  that  punishment  for  some  time  would  reclaim 
offenders  from  sin  and  bring  them  to  repentance,  the  diffi- 
culty is  not  removed,  unless  they  can  prove  that  misery 
will  bring  men  to  love  that  God  who  inflicts  it,  which  they 
can  never  do;  and  it  is  evident,  that  that  repentance 
which  proceeds  merely  from  self-love,  without  any  regard 
to  God  at  all,  can  never  be  pleasing  to  him,  nor  prepare 
them  for  happiness  in  the  enjoyment  of  him.  Punishment 
would  produce  a  repentance  like  that  of  a  sick-bed,  forced, 
servile,  and  transitory. 

Will  they  object,  that  miracles  are  not  a  sufficient  evi- 
dence of  the  truth  and  divinity  of  a  revelation,  because 
infernal  spirits  may  also  work  miracles,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  magicians  of  Egypt,  to  confirm  an  imposture  1  But  it 
is  known  that  our  free-thinkers  explode  and  laugh  at  the 
existence  and  power  of  evil  spirits  in  other  cases,  and 
therefore  must  not  be  allowed  to  admit  them  here  to  serve 
a  turn.  However,  we  grant  there  are  infernal  spirits,  and 
that  they  can  perform  many  things  above  human  power, 
which  may  appear  to  us  miraculous,  and  yet  the  evidence 
in  favour  of  Christianity  taken  from  miracles,  stands  un- 
shaken: for,  (1.)  Can  we  suppose  that  these  malignant 
and  wicked  spirits,  whose  business  it  is  to  reduce  men  to 
sin  and  ruin,  would  be  willing  to  exert  their  power  to 
work  miracles  to  confirm  so  holy  a  religion;  a  religion  so 
contrary  to  their  design,  and  so  subversive  of  their  king- 
dom and  interest?  This  would  be  wretched  policy  in- 
deed. Or  if  we  should  suppose  them  willing,  yet  (2.) 
Can  we  think  that  God,  who  has  them  all  at  his  control, 


102          THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY   AND    SUFFICIENCY 

would  suffer  them  to  counterfeit  the  great  seal  of  heaven, 
and  annex  it  to  an  imposture  ?  that  is,  to  work  such  mira- 
cles as  could  not  be  distinguished  from  those  wrought  by 
him  to  attest  an  imposture  ?  Would  he  permit  them  to 
impose  upon  mankind  in  a  manner  that  could  not  be  de- 
tected 1  This  would  be  to  deliver  the  world  to  their  man- 
agement, and  suffer  them  to  lead  them  blindfold  to  hell  in 
unavoidable  delusion :  for  miracles  are  such  dazzling  and 
pompous  evidences,  that  the  general  run  of  mankind 
could  not  resist  them,  even  though  they  were  wrought  to 
attest  a  religion  that  might  be  demonstrated,  by  a  long 
train  of  sublime  reasoning,  to  be  false.  God  may  indeed 
suffer  the  devil  to  mimic  the  miracles  wrought  by  his  im- 
mediate hand,  as  in  the  case  of  Jannes  and  Jambres ;  but 
then,  as  in  that  case  too,  he  will  take  care  to  excel  them, 
and  give  some  distinguishing  marks  of  his  almighty  agency, 
which  all  mankind  may  easily  discriminate  from  the  ut- 
most exertion  of  infernal  power.  But  though  Satan 
should  be  willing,  and  God  should  permit  him  to  work 
miracles,  yet,  (3.)  Can  we  suppose  that  all  the  united 
powers  of  hell  are  able  to  work  such  astonishing  miracles 
as  were  wrought  for  the  confirmation  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion 1  Can  we  suppose  that  they  can  control  the  laws 
of  nature  at  pleasure,  and  that  with  an  air  of  sovereignty, 
and  professing  themselves  the  lords  of  the  universe,  as  we 
know  Christ  did  1  If  we  can  believe  this,  then  we  deny 
them,  and  may  as  well  ascribe  the  creation  and  preserva- 
tion of  the  world  to  them.  If  they  could  exert  a  creat- 
ing power  to  form  new  limbs  for  the  maimed,  or  to  mul- 
tiply five  loaves  and  two  fishes  into  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  food  for  five  thousand,  and  leave  a  greater  quantity  of 
fragments  when  that  were  done  than  the  whole  provision 
at  first,  then  they  might  create  the  world,  and  support  all 
the  creatures  in  it.  If  they  could  animate  the  dead  and 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  103 

remand  the  separate  soul  back  to  its  former  habitation, 
and  reunite  it  with  the  body,  then  I  see  not  why  they 
might  not  have  given  us  life  at  first.  But  to  suppose  this, 
would  be  to  dethrone  the  King  of  heaven,  and  renounce 
his  providence  entirely.  We  therefore  rest  assured  that 
the  miracles  related  in  the  Scriptures  were  wrought  by 
the  finger  of  God. 

But  our  free-thinkers  will  urge,  how  do  we,  at  this  dis- 
tance, know  that  such  miracles  were  actually  wrought? 
they  are  only  related  in  Scripture  history ;  but  to  prove 
the  truth  of  Scripture  from  arguments  that  suppose  the 
Scripture  true,  is  a  ridiculous  method  of  reasoning,  and 
only  a  begging  of  the  question.  But,  (1.)  the  reality  of 
those  miracles  was  granted  by  the  enemies  of  Christianity 
in  their  writings  against  it ;  and  they  had  no  answer  to 
make,  but  this  sorry  one,  that  they  were  wrought  by  the 
power  of  magic.  They  never  durst  deny  that  they  were 
wrought;  for  they  knew  all  the  world  could  prove  it. 
Indeed,  an  honorable  testimony  concerning  them  could 
not  be  expected  from  infidels  ;  for  it  would  be  utterly  in- 
consistent that  they  should  own  these  miracles  sufficient 
attestations  of  Christianity,  and  yet  continue  infidels. 
And  this  may  answer  an  unreasonable  demand  of  the 
Deists,  that  we  should  produce  some  honourable  testimony 
concerning  these  attestations  from  Jews  and  Heathens,  as 
well  as  from  Christians,  who  were  parties.  We  should 
have  much  more  reason  to  suspect  the  testimony  of  the 
former  as  not  convictive,  when  it  did  not  convince  the 
persons  themselves.  But, 

(2.)  As  these  miracles  were  of  so  public  a  nature,  and 
as  so  many  were  concerned  to  detect  them,  that  they 
would  unavoidably  have  been  detected  when  related  in 
words,  if  they  had  not  been  done ;  so,  for  the  same  reasons, 
they  could  not  but  have  been  detected  when  related  in 


104          THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

writing;  and  this  we  know  they  never  were.  If  these 
miracles  had  not  been  matters  of  undoubted  fact,  they 
could  not  have  been  inserted  at  first  in  the  gospel  history ; 
for  then,  many  thousands,  in  various  countries  were  alive 
to  confute  them ;  and  they  could  not  have  been  introduced 
into  it  afterwards,  for  all  the  world  would  see  that  it  was 
then  too  late,  and  that  if  there  had  been  such  things  they 
should  have  heard  of  them  before  :  for  they  were  much 
more  necessary  for  the  propagation  of  Christianity  than 
for  its  support  when  received. 

But  it  may  be  objected,  How  can  we  at  this  distance 
know  that  these  histories  are  genuine  ?  May  they  not 
have  been  corrupted,  and  many  additions  made  to  them 
by  designing  men  in  ages  since  ?  And  why  is  it  not  also 
asked,  How  do  we  know  that  there  were  such  men  as 
Alexander,  Julius  Caesar  or  King  William  the  Third  ? 
How  do  we  know  but  their  histories  are  all  romance  and 
fable  ?  How  do  we  know  that  there  were  any  genera- 
tions of  mankind  before  ourselves?  How  do  we  know 
but  all  the  acts  of  Parliament  of  former  reigns  are  cor- 
rupted and  we  are  ruled  by  impositions?  In  short,  how 
can  we  know  anything,  but  what  we  have  seen  with  our 
eyes  ?  We  may  as  well  make  difficulties  of  all  these 
things,  and  so  destroy  all  human  testimony,  as  scruple  the 
genuineness  of  the  sacred  writings ;  for  never  were  any 
writings  conveyed  down  with  so  good  evidence  of  their 
being  genuine  and  uncorrupted  as  these.  Upon  their  first 
publication  they  were  put  into  all  hands,  they  were  scat- 
tered into  all  nations,  translated  into  various  languages, 
and  all  perused  them;  either  to  be  taught  by  them,  or  to 
cavil  at  them.  And  ever  since,  they  have  been  quoted 
by  thousands  of  authors,  appealed  to  by  all  parties  of 
Christians,  as  the  supreme  judge  of  controversies ;  and 
not  only  the  enemies  of  Christianity  have  carefully 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  105 

watched  them  to  detect  any  alterations  which  pious  fraud 
might  attempt  to  make,  but  one  sect  of  Christians  has 
kept  a  watchful  eye  over  the  other,  lest  they  should  alter 
anything  in  favour  of  their  own  cause.  And  it  is  matter 
of  astonishment  as  well  as  conviction,  that  all  the  various 
copies  and  translations  of  the  Scriptures  in  different  nations 
and  libraries  are  substantially  the  same,  and  differ  only  in 
matters  of  small  moment;  so  that  from  the  worst  copy  of 
translation  in  the  world,  one  might  easily  learn  the  sub- 
stance of  Christianity. 

Or  will  our  infidels  insist  to  be  eye-witnesses  of  these 
facts  ?  Must  one  arise  from  the  dead,  or  new  miracles  be 
wrought  to  convince  them  by  ocular  demonstration  ? 
This  is  a  most  unreasonable  demand,  for  (1.)  The  contin- 
uance of  miracles  in  every  age  would  be  attended  with 
numerous  inconveniences.  For  example,  Multitudes  must 
be  born  blind,  deaf,  or  dumb ;  multitudes  must  be  afflicted 
with  incurable  diseases,  and  possessed  by  evil  spirits;  mul- 
titudes must  be  disturbed  in  the  sleep  of  death ;  and  all 
the  laws  of  nature  must  be  made  precarious  and  fickle,  in 
order  to  leave  room  for  miraculous  operations;  and  all 
this  to  humour  a  company  of  obstinate  infidels,  who  would 
not  believe  upon  less  striking  though  entirely  sufficient 
evidence.  (2.)  The  continuance  of  miracles  from  age  to 
age  would  destroy  their  very  nature,  to  which  it  is  essen- 
tial, that  they  be  rare  and  extraordinary;  for  what  is 
ordinary  and  frequent,  we  are  apt  to  ascribe  to  the  estab- 
lished laws  of  nature,  however  wonderful  it  be  in  itself. 
For  example,  if  we  saw  dead  bodies  rise  from  their  graves, 
as  often  as  we  see  vegetables  spring  from  seed  rotten  in 
the  earth,  we  should  be  no  more  surprised  at  the  one  phe- 
nomenon than  we  are  at  the  other,  and  our  virtuosi  would 
be  equally  busy  to  assign  some  natural  cause  for  both. 

And  had  we  never  seen  the  sun  rise  until  this  morning, 
VOL.  I.— 14. 


106          THE    DIVINE    AUTHORITY    AND    SUFFICIENCY 

we  should  justly  have  accounted  it  as  great  a  miracle  as 
any  recorded  in  the  Scriptures ;  but  because  it  is  common, 
we  neglect  it  as  a  thing  of  course.  Indeed,  it  is  not  any- 
thing in  the  event  itself,  or  in  the  degree  of  power  neces- 
sary for  its  accomplishment,  that  renders  it  miraculous, 
but  its  being  uncommon,  and  out  of  the  ordinary  course 
of  things ;  for  example,  the  generation  of  the  human  body 
is  not  in  itself  less  astonishing,  nor  does  it  require  less 
power  than  its  resurrection  :  the  revolution  of  the  sun  in 
its  regular  course  is  as  wonderful,  and  as  much  requires  a 
divine  power,  as  its  standing  still  in  the  days  of  Joshua. 
But  we  acknowledge  a  miracle  in  the  one  case,  but  not  in 
the  other,  because  the  one  is  extraordinary,  while  the 
other  frequently  occurs.  Hence  it  follows,  that  the  fre- 
quent repetition  of  miracles,  as  often  as  men  are  pleased  to 
plead  the  want  of  evidence  to  excuse  their  infidelity,  would 
destroy  their  very  nature :  and  consequently,  to  demand 
their  continuance  is  to  demand  an  impossibility.  But  (3.) 
Suppose  that  men  should  be  indulged  in  this  request,  it 
would  not  probably  bring  them  to  believe.  If  they  are 
unbelievers  now,  it  is  not  for  want  of  evidence,  but  through 
wilful  blindness  and  obstinacy;  and  as  they  that  will  shut 
their  eyes  can  see  no  more  in  meridian  light  than  in  the 
twilight,  so  they  that  reject  a  sufficiency  of  evidence  would 
also  resist  a  superfluity  of  it.  Thus  the  Jews,  who  were 
eye-witnesses  of  the  miracles  recorded  in  the  Scriptures, 
continued  invincible  infidels  still.  They  had  always  some 
trifling  cavil  ready  to  object  against  the  brightest  evidence. 
And  thus  our  modern  infidels  would  no  doubt  evade  the 
force  of  the  most  miraculous  attestation  by  some  wretched 
hypothesis  or  other ;  they  would  look  upon  miracles  either 
as  magical  productions,  or  illusions  of  their  senses;  or 
rather,  as  natural  and  necessary  events,  which  they  would 
indeed  have  some  reason  to  conclude,  if  they  were  fre- 


OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION.  107 

quently  performed  before  their  eyes.  Some  have  pre- 
tended to  doubt  of  the  existence  and  perfections  of  God, 
notwithstanding  the  evidences  thereof  upon  this  magnifi- 
cent structure  of  the  universe ;  and  must  God  be  always 
creating  new  worlds  before  these  obstinate  creatures  for 
their  conviction  ?  Such  persons  have  as  much  reason  to 
demand  it  in  this  case,  as  our  Deists  have  to  insist  for  new 
miracles  in  the  other.  I  might  add,  that  such  glaring  evi- 
dence, as,  like  the  light  of  the  sun,  would  force  itself 
irresistibly  upon  the  minds  of  the  most  reluctant,  would 
not  leave  room  for  us  to  show  our  regard  to  God  in  be- 
lieving, for  we  should  then  believe  from  extrinsic  neces- 
sity, and  not  from  choice.  It  is  therefore  most  corres- 
pondent to  our  present  state  of  probation,  that  there 
should  be  something  in  the  evidence  of  a  divine  revelation 
to  try  us ;  something  that  might  fully  convince  the  teacha- 
ble and  yet  not  remove  all  umbrages  for  cavilling  from  the 
obstinate. 

Thus  I  have  answered  as  many  objections  as  the  bounds 
of  a  sermon  would  admit ;  and  I  think  they  are  the  prin- 
cipal ones  which  lie  against  my  subject  in  the  view  I  have 
considered  it.  And  as  I  have  not  designedly  selected  the 
weakest,  in  order  to  an  easy  triumph,  you  may  look  upon 
the  answers  that  have  been  given  as  a  ground  of  rational 
presumption,  that  all  other  objections  may  be  answered 
with  equal  ease.  Indeed,  if  they  could  not,  it  would  not 
invalidate  the  positive  arguments  in  favour  of  Christianity ; 
for  when  we  have  sufficient  positive  evidence  for  a  thing, 
we  do  not  reject  it  because  it  is  attended  with  some  diffi- 
culties which  we  cannot  solve. 

My  time  will  allow  me  to  make  but  two  or  three  short 
reflections  upon  the  whole. 

1.  If  the  religion  of  Jesus  be  attested  with  such  full 
evidence,  and  be  sufficient  to  conduct  men  to  everlasting 


108  THE    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION. 

felicity,  then  how  helpless  are  they  that  have  enjoyed  it 
all  their  life  without  profit :  who  either  reject  it  as  false, 
or  have  not  felt  its  power  to  reform  their  hearts  and  lives  1 
It  is  the  last  remedy  provided  for  a  guilty  world ;  and  if 
this  fails,  their  disease  is  incurable,  and  they  are  not  to  ex- 
pect better  means. 

2.  If  the  religion  of  Jesus  be  true,  then  woe  unto  the 
wicked  of  all  sorts :   woe  to  infidels,  both  practical  and 
speculative,  for  all  the  curses  of  it  are  in  full  force  against 
them,  and  I  need  not  tell  you  how  dreadful  they  are. 

3.  If  the  religion  of  Jesus  be  true,  then  I  congratulate 
such  of  you,  whose  hearts  and  lives  are  habitually  con- 
formed to  it,  and  who  have  ventured  your  everlasting  all 
upon  it.     You  build  upon  a  sure  foundation,  and  your 
hope  shall  never  make  you  ashamed. 

Finally,  Let  us  all  strive  to  become  rational  and  practi- 
cal believers  of  this  heaven-born  religion.  Let  our  under- 
standings be  more  rationally  and  thoroughly  convinced  of 
its  truth ;  and  our  hearts  and  lives  be  more  and  more  con- 
formed to  its  purity ;  and  ere  long  we  shall  receive  those 
glorious  rewards  it  insures  to  all  its  sincere  disciples; 
which  may  God  grant  to  us  all  for  Jesus1  sake ;  AMEN  ! 


METHOD    OF    SALVATION    THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.    109 


SERMON  II. 

THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION    THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST. 

JOHN  iii.  16. — For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him, 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life. 

I  HAVE  been  solicitously  thinking  in  what  way  my  life, 
redeemed  from  the  grave,  may  be  of  most  service  to 
my  dear  people.  And  I  would  collect  all  the  feeble  re- 
mains of  my  strength  into  one  vigorous  effort  this  day,  to 
promote  this  benevolent  end.  If  I  knew  what  subject  has 
the  most  direct  tendency  to  save  your  souls,  that  is  the 
subject  to  which  my  heart  would  cling  with  peculiar  en- 
dearment, and  which  I  would  make  the  matter  of  the 
present  discourse. 

And  when  I  consider  I  am  speaking  to  an  assembly  of 
sinners,  guilty,  depraved,  helpless  creatures,  and  that,  if 
ever  you  be  saved,  it  will  be  only  through  Jesus  Christ,  in 
that  way  which  the  gospel  reveals;  when  I  consider  that 
your  everlasting  life  and  happiness  turn  upon  this  hinge, 
namely,  the  reception  you  give  to  this  Saviour,  and  this 
way  of  salvation ;  I  say,  when  I  consider  these  things,  I 
can  think  of  no  subject  I  can  more  properly  choose  than 
to  recommend  the  Lord  Jesus  to  your  acceptance,  and  to 
explain  and  inculcate  the  method  of  salvation  through  his 
mediation ;  or,  in  other  words,  to  preach  the  pure  gos- 
pel to  you;  for  the  gospel,  in  the  most  proper  sense,  is 
nothing  else  but  a  revelation  of  a  way  of  salvation  for  sin- 
ners of  Adam's  race. 


110  THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION 

My  text  furnishes  me  with  proper  materials  for  my  pur- 
pose. Let  heaven  and  earth  hear  it  with  wonder,  joy, 
and  raptures  of  praise  !  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever,  or  that  every 
one  that  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  ever- 
lasting life. 

This  is  a  part  of  the  most  important  evening  conversa- 
tion that  ever  was  held ;  I  mean,  that  between  Christ  and 
Nicodemus,  a  Pharisee  and  ruler  of  the  Jews.  Our  Lord 
first  instructs  him  in  the  doctrine  of  regeneration,  that 
grand  constituent  of  a  Christian,  and  pre-requisite  to  our 
admission  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  and  then  he  pro- 
ceeds to  inform  him  of  the  gospel-method  of  salvation, 
which  contains  these  two  grand  articles,  the  death  of 
Christ,  as  the  great  foundation  of  blessedness ;  and  faith  in 
him,  as  the  great  qualification  upon  the  part  of  the  sinner. 
He  presents  this  important  doctrine  to  us  in  various  forms, 
with  a  very  significant  repetition.  As  Moses  lifted  up  the 
Serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be 
lifted  up  ;  that  is,  hung  on  high  on  a  cross,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting 
life-.  Then  follows  my  text,  which  expresses  the  same 
doctrine  with  great  force :  God  so  loved  the  world,  that 
he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  gave  him  up  to  death,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life.  He  goes  on  to  mention  a  wonder.  This 
earth  is  a  rebellious  province  of  Jehovah's  dominions,  and 
therefore  if  his  Son  should  ever  visit  it,  one  would  think  it 
would  be  as  an  angry  judge,  or  as  the  executioner  of  his 
Father's  vengeance.  But,  O  astonishing !  God  sent  not  his 
Son  into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world,  but  that  the 
world  through  him  might  be  saved.  Hence  the  terms 
of  life  and  death  are  thus  fixed.  He  that  believeth  on 
him  is  not  condemned:  but  he  that  believeth  not  is 


I 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  Ill 

comdemned  already,  because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the 
name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God.  Sure  the  heavenly 
rivers  of  pleasure  flow  in  these  verses.  Never,  methinks, 
was  there  so  much  gospel  expressed  in  so  few  words. 
Here,  take  the  gospel  in  miniature,  and  bind  it  to  your 
hearts  for  ever.  These  verses  alone,  methinks,  are  a  suf- 
ficient remedy  for  a  dying  world. 

The  truths  I  would  infer  from  the  text  for  present  im- 
provement are  these :  that  without  Christ  you  are  all  in  a 
perishing  condition;  that  through  Jesus  Christ  a  way  is 
opened  for  your  salvation;  that  the  grand  pre-requisite  to 
your  being  saved  in  this  way,  is  faith  in  Jesus  Christ;  that 
every  one,  without  exception,  whatever  his  former  charac- 
ter has  been,  that  is  enabled  to  comply  with  this  pre- 
requisite, shall  certainly  be  saved;  and  that  the  constitu- 
tion of  this  method  of  salvation,  or  the  mission  of  Christ 
into  our  world,  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  is  a  most  strik- 
ing and  astonishing  instance  and  display  of  the  love  of  God. 

I.  My  text  implies,  that  without  Christ  you  are  all  in  a 
perishing  condition.  This  holds  true  of  you  in  particular, 
because  it  holds  true  of  the  world  universally;  for  the 
world  was  undoubtedly  in  a  perishing  condition  without 
Christ,  and  none  but  he  could  relieve  it,  otherwise  God 
would  never  have  given  his  only  begotten  Son  to  save  it. 
God  is  not  ostentatious  or  prodigal  of  his  gifts,  especially 
of  so  inestimable  a  gift  as  his  Son,  whom  he  loves  infinitely 
more  than  the  whole  creation.  So  great,  so  dear  a  per- 
son would  not  have  been  sent  upon  a  mission  which  could 
have  been  discharged  by  any  other  being.  Thousands  of 
rams  must  bleed  in  sacrifice,  or  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of 
oil  must  flow;  our  first-born  must  die  for  our  transgres- 
sions, and  the  fruit  of  our  body  for  the  sin  of  our  souls;  or 
Gabriel,  or  some  of  the  upper  ranks  of  angels,  must  leave 
their  thrones,  and  hang  upon  a  cross,  if  such  methods  of 


112  THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION 

salvation  had  been  sufficient.  All  this  would  have  been 
nothing  in  comparison  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God 
leaving  his  native  heaven,  and  all  its  glories,  assuming  our 
degraded  nature,  spending  thirty-three  long  and  tedious 
years  in  poverty,  disgrace,  and  persecution,  dying  as  a 
malefactor  and  a  slave  in  the  midst  of  ignominy  and  tor- 
ture, and  lying  a  mangled  breathless  corpse  in  the  grave. 
We  may  be  sure  there  was  the  highest  degree  of  necessity 
for  it,  otherwise  God  would  not  have  given  up  his  dear 
Son  to  such  a  horrid  scene  of  sufferings. 

This,  then,  was  the  true  state  of  the  world,  and  conse- 
quently yours  without  Christ;  it  was  hopeless  and  des- 
perate in  every  view.  In  that  situation  there  would  not 
have  been  so  much  goodness  in  the  world  as  to  try  the 
efficacy  of  sacrifices,  prayers,  tears,  reformation,  and  re- 
pentance, or  they  would  have  been  tried  in  vain.  It 
would  have  been  inconsistent  with  the  honour  of  the  divine 
perfections  and  government,  to  admit  sacrifices,  prayers, 
tears,  repentance,  and  reformation,  as  a  sufficient  atone- 
ment. 

What  a  melancholy  view  of  the  world  have  we  now 
before  us!  WTe  know  the  state  of  mankind  only  under 
the  gracious  government  of  a  Mediator;  and  we  but 
seldom  realize  what  our  miserable  condition  would  have 
been,  had  this  gracious  administration  never  been  set 
up.  But  exclude  a  Saviour  in  your  thoughts  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  then  take  a  view  of  the  world — helpless !  hope- 
less ! — under  the  righteous  displeasure  of  God ;  and  des- 
pairing of  relief! — the  very  suburbs  of  hell!  the  range  of 
malignant  devils !  the  region  of  guilt,  misery,  and  des- 
pair ! — the  mouth  of  the  infernal  pit ! — the  gate  of  hell ! — 
This  would  have  been  the  condition  of  our  world  had  it 
not  been  for  that  Jesus  who  redeemed  it;  and  yet  in  this 
very  world  he  is  neglected  and  despised. 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  113 

But  you  will  ask  me,  "  How  it  comes  that  the  world 
was  in  such  an  undone,  helpless,  hopeless  condition  with- 
out Christ ;  or  what  are  the  reasons  of  all  this  ?" 

The  true  account  of  this  will  appear  from  these  two 
considerations,  that  all  mankind  are  sinners;  and  that  no 
other  method  but  the  mediation  of  Christ  could  render 
the  salvation  of  sinners  consistent  with  the  honour  of  the 
divine  perfections  and  government,  with  the  public  good, 
and  even  with  the  nature  of  things. 

All  mankind  are  sinners.  This  is  too  evident  to  need 
proof.  They  are  sinners,  rebels  against  the  greatest 
and  best  of  beings,  against  their  Maker,  their  liberal  Bene- 
factor, and  their  rightful  Sovereign,  to  whom  they  are 
under  stronger  and  more  endearing  obligations  than  they 
can  be  under  to  any  creature,  or  even  to  the  entire  system 
of  creatures ;  sinners,  rebels  in  every  part  of  our  guilty 
globe;  none  righteous,  no,  not  one;  all  sinners,  without 
exception  :  sinners  from  age  to  age  for  thousands  of  years : 
thousands,  millions,  innumerable  multitudes  of  sinners. 
What  an  obnoxious  race  is  this !  There  appears  no  dif- 
ficulty in  the  way  of  justice  to  punish  such  creatures. 
But  what  seeming  insuperable  difficulties  appear  in  the 
way  of  their  salvation !  Let  me  mention  a  few  of  them 
to  recommend  that  blessed  Saviour  who  has  removed 
them  all. 

If  such  sinners  be  saved,  how  shall  the  holiness  and  jus- 
tice of  God  be  displayed  ?  How  shall  he  give  an  honor- 
able view  of  himself  to  all  worlds  as  a  being  of  perfect 
purity,  and  an  enemy  to  all  moral  evil  ? 

If  such  sinners  be  saved,  how  shall  the  honor  of  the 
divine  government  and  law  be  secured  ?  How  will  the 
dignity  of  the  law  appear,  if  a  race  of  rebels  may  trifle 
with  it  with  impunity  ?  What  a  sorry  law  must  that  be 

that  has  no  sanctions,  or  whose  sanctions  may  be  dis- 
VOL.  I.— 15 


114  THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION 

pensed  with  at  pleasure  ?  What  a  contemptible  govern- 
ment, that  may  be  insulted  and  rejected,  and  the  offender 
admitted  into  favour  without  exemplary  punishment  ?  No 
government  can  subsist  upon  such  principles  of  excessive 
indulgence. 

How  can  such  sinners  be  saved,  and  yet  the  good  of 
the  public  secured,  which  is  always  the  end  of  every  wise 
and  good  ruler  1  By  the  public  good  I  do  not  mean  the 
happiness  of  mankind  alone,  but  I  mean  the  happiness  of 
all  worlds  of  reasonable  creatures  collectively,  in  compari- 
son of  which  the  happiness  of  mankind  alone  may  be  only 
a  private  interest,  which  should  always  give  way  to  the 
public  good.  Now  sin  has  a  direct  tendency,  not  only 
according  to  law,  but  according  to  the  nature  of  things,  to 
scatter  misery  and  ruin  wherever  its  infection  reaches. 
Therefore  the  public  good  cannot  properly  be  consulted 
without  giving  a  loud  and  effectual  warning  against  all  sin, 
and  dealing  with  offenders  in  such  a  manner  as  to  deter 
others  from  offending.  But  how  can  this  be  done  ?  How 
can  the  sinner  be  saved,  and  yet  the  evil  of  sin  displayed, 
and  all  other  beings  be  deterred  from  it  for  ever  ?  How 
can  sin  be  discouraged  by  pardoning  it?  its  evil  displayed 
by  letting  the  criminal  escape  punishment  ?  These  are 
such  difficulties,  that  nothing  but  divine  wisdom  could  ever 
surmount  them. 

These  difficulties  lie  in  the  way  of  a  mere  pardon,  and 
exemption  from  punishment :  but  salvation  includes  more 
than  this.  When  sinners  are  saved,  they  are  not  only 
pardoned,  but  received  into  high  favour,  made  the  child- 
ren, the  friends,  the  courtiers  of  the  King  of  heaven. 
They  are  not  only  delivered  from  punishment,  but  also 
advanced  to  a  state  of  perfect  positive  happiness,  and 
nothing  short  of  this  can  render  such  creatures  as  we 
happy.  Now,  in  this  view,  the  difficulties  rise  still  higher, 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  115 

and  it  is  the  more  worthy  of  observation,  as  this  is  not 
generally  the  case  in  human  governments;  and  as  men  are 
apt  to  form  their  notions  of  the  divine  government  by 
human,  they  are  less  sensible  of  these  difficulties.  Sut 
this  is  indeed  the  true  state  of  the  case  here ;  how  can  the 
sinner  be  not  only  delivered  from  punishment,  but  also 
advanced  to  a  state  of  perfect  happiness  ?  not  only  escape 
the  displeasure  of  his  offended  Sovereign,  but  be  received 
into  full  favour,  and  advanced  to  the  highest  honour  and 
dignity ;  how  can  this  be  done  without  casting  a  cloud 
over  the  purity  and  justice  of  the  Lord  of  all ;  without 
sinking  his  law  and  government  into  contempt;  without 
diminishing  the  evil  of  sin,  and  emboldening  others  to 
venture  upon  it,  and  so  at  once  injuring  the  character  of 
the  supreme  Ruler,  and  the  public  good  ?  How  can 
sinners,  I  say,  be  saved  without  the  salvation  being  attended 
with  these  bad  consequences  ? 

And  here  you  must  remember,  that  these  consequences 
must  be  provided  against.  To  save  men  at  random, 
without  considering  the  consequences,  to  distribute  happi- 
ness to  private  persons  with  an  undistinguishing  hand,  this 
would  be  at  once  inconsistent  with  the  character  of  the 
supreme  Magistrate  of  the  universe,  and  with  the  public 
good.  Private  persons  are  at  liberty  to  forgive  private 
offences;  nay,  it  is  their  duty  to  forgive;  and  they  can 
hardly  offend  by  way  of  excess  in  the  generous  virtues  of 
mercy  and  compassion.  But  the  case  is  otherwise  with  a 
magistrate;  he  is  obliged  to  consult  the  dignity  of  his 
government  and  the  interest  of  the  public;  and  he  may 
easily  carry  his  lenity  to  a  very  dangerous  extreme,  and 
by  his  tenderness  to  criminals  do  an  extensive  injury  to  the 
state.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with  regard  to  the 
great  God,  the  universal  supreme  Magistrate  of  all  worlds. 
And  this  ought  to  be  seriously  considered  by  those  men 


116  THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION 

of  loose  principles  among  us,  who  look  upon  God  only 
under  the  fond  character  of  a  father,  or  a  being  of  infinite 
mercy ;  and  thence  conclude,  they  have  little  to  fear  from 
him  for  all  their  audacious  iniquities.  There  is  no  abso- 
lute necessity  that  sinners  should  be  saved :  justice  may 
be  suffered  to  take  place  upon  them.  But  there  is  the 
most  absolute  necessity  that  the  Ruler  of  the  world  should 
both  be,  and  appear  to  be  holy  and  just.  There  is  the 
most  absolute  necessity  that  he  should  support  the  dignity 
of  his  government,  and  guard  it  from  contempt,  that  he 
should  strike  all  worlds  with  a  proper  horror  of  sin,  and 
represent  it  in  its  genuine  infernal  colours,  and  so  consult 
the  good  of  the  whole,  rather  than  a  part.  There  is,  I 
say,  the  highest  and  most  absolute  necessity  for  these 
things;  and  they  cannot  be  dispensed  with  as  matters  of 
arbitrary  pleasure.  And  unless  these  ends  can  be  answered 
in  the  salvation  of  men,  they  cannot  be  saved  at  all.  No, 
they  must  all  perish,  rather  than  God  should  act  out  of 
character,  as  the  supreme  Magistrate  of  the  universe,  or 
bestow  private  favours  to  criminals,  to  the  detriment  of  the 
public. 

And  in  this  lay  the  difficulty.  Call  a  council  of  all  the 
sages  and  wise  men  of  the  world,  and  they  can  never  get 
over  this  difficulty,  without  borrowing  assistance  from  the 
gospel.  Nay,  this,  no  doubt,  puzzled  all  the  angelic  in- 
telligences, who  pry  so  deep  into  the  mysteries  of  heaven, 
before  the  gospel  was  fully  revealed. — Methinks  the 
angels,  when  they  saw  the  fall  of  man,  gave  him  up  as 
desperate.  "  Alas !  (they  cried)  the  poor  creature  is  gone ! 
he  and  all  his  numerous  race  are  lost  for  ever."  This, 
they  knew,  had  been  the  doom  of  their  fellow-angels  that 
sinned :  and  could  they  hope  better  for  man  ?  Then  they 
had  not  seen  any  of  the  wonders  of  pardoning  love  and 
mercy,  and  could  they  have  once  thought  that  the  glorious 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  117 

>y 

person,  who  filled  the  middle  throne,  and  was  their 
Creator  and  Lord,  would  ever  become  a  man,  and  die, 
like  a  criminal,  to  redeem  an  inferior  rank  of  creatures? 
No,  this  thought  they  would  probably  have  shuddered  at 
as  blasphemy. 

And  must  we  then  give  up  ourselves  and  all  our  race 
as  lost  beyond  recovery?  There  are  huge  and  seem- 
ingly insuperable  difficulties  in  the  way;  and  we  have  seen 
that  neither  men  nor  angels  can  prescribe  any  relief. 
But,  sing,  0  ye  heavens,  for  the  LORD  hath  done  it :  shout, 
ye  lower  parts  of  the  earth:  break  forth  into  singing,  ye 
mountains,  0  forest,  and  every  tree  therein  ;  for  the  LORD 
hath  redeemed  Jacob,  and  glorified  himself  in  Israel,  Isaiah 
xliv.  23.  Which  leads  me  to  add, 

II.  My  text  implies,  that  through  Jesus  Christ  a  way 
is  opened  for  your  salvation.  He,  and  he  only  was  found 
equal  to  the  undertaking;  and  before  him  all  these  moun- 
tains became  a  plain;  all  these  difficulties  vanish;  and  now 
God  can  be  just,  can  secure  the  dignity  of  his  character, 
as  the  Ruler  of  the  world,  and  answer  all  the  ends  of 
government,  and  yet  justify  and  save  the  sinner  that  be- 
lie veth  in  Jesus. 

This  is  plainly  implied  in  this  glorious  epitome  of  the 
gospel :  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  be- 
gotten Son,  that  whoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life.  Without  this  gift  all  was  lost : 
but  now,  whosoever  believeth  in  him  may  be  saved;  saved 
in  a  most  honourable  way.  This  will  appear  more  par- 
ticularly, if  we  consider  the  tendency  the  mediation  of 
Christ  had  to  remove  the  difficulties  mentioned.  But  I 
would  premise  two  general  remarks. 

The  first  is,  That  God  being  considered  in  this  affair  in 
his  public  character,  as  Supreme  Magistrate,  or  Governor 
of  the  world,  all  the  punishment  which  he  is  concerned  to 


118  THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION 

see  inflicted  upon  sin  is  only  such  as  answers  the  ends  of 
government.     Private  revenge  must  vent  itself  on  the  very 
person    of  the  offender,  or   be  disappointed.     But  to  a 
ruler,  as  such,  it  may  in  some  cases  be  indifferent,  whether 
the   punishment   be   sustained   by  the  very  person   that 
offended,  or  by  a  substitute  suffering  in  his  stead.     It  may 
also  be  indifferent  whether  the  very  same  punishment,  as 
to  kind  and  degree,  threatened  in  the  law,  be  inflicted,  or 
a  punishment  equivalent  to  it.     If  the  honour  of  the  ruler 
and  his  government  be  maintained,  if  all  disobedience  be 
properly  discountenanced;   if,  in  short,  all  the  ends   of 
government  can  be  answered,  such  things  as  these  are  in- 
differences.    Consequently,  if  these  ends  should  be  an- 
swered by  Christ's  suffering  in  the  stead  of  sinners,  there 
would  be  no  objection  against  it.     This  remark  introduces 
another,  namely,  (2.)  That  Jesus  Christ  was  such  a  per- 
son that  his  suffering  as  the  substitute  or  surety  of  sinners, 
answered  all   the  ends  of  government  which  could   be 
answered  by  the  execution  of  the  punishment  upon  the 
sinners  themselves.     To  impose   suffering   upon   the  in- 
nocent, when  uuwilling,  is  unjust;  but  Jesus  was  willing 
to   undertake  the  dreadful  task.     And  besides,  he  was  a 
person  (sui  juris)  at  his  own  disposal,  his  own  property, 
and  therefore  he  had  a  right  to  dispose  of  his  life  as  he 
pleased ;   and  there  was  a  merit  in  his  consenting  to  that 
which  he  was  not  obliged  to  previous  to  his  consent.     He 
was  also  a  person  of  infinite  dignity,  and  infinitely  beloved 
by  his   Father;    and   these   considerations   rendered   the 
merit  of  his  sufferings  for  a  short  time,  and  another  kind 
of  punishment  than  that  of  hell,  equal,  more  than  equal  to 
the    everlasting   sufferings  of  sinners  themselves.     Jesus 
Christ  was  also  above  law;  that  is,  not  obliged  to  be  sub- 
ject to  that  law  which  he  had  made  for  his  creatures,  and 
consequently  his  obedience  to  the  law,  not  being  necessary 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  119 

for  himself,  might  be  imputed' to  others:  whereas  creatures 
are  incapable  of  works  of  supererogation,  or  of  doing 
more  than  they  are  bound  to  do,  being  obliged  to  obey 
their  divine  law-giver  for  themselves  to  the  utmost  extent 
of  their  abilities,  and  consequently  their  obedience,  how- 
ever perfect,  can  be  sufficient  only  for  themselves,  but 
cannot  be  imputed  to  others.  Thus  it  appears,  in  general, 
that  the  ends  of  government  are  as  effectually  answered 
by  the  sufferings  of  Christ  in  the  room  of  sinners,  as  they 
could  be  by  the  everlasting  punishment  of  the  sinners 
themselves;  nay,  we  shall  presently  find  they  are  answered 
in  a  more  striking  and  illustrious  manner.  To  mention 
particulars : 

Was  it  necessary  that  the  holiness  and  justice  of  God 
should  be  displayed  in  the  salvation  of  sinners?  See  how 
bright  they  shine  in  a  suffering  Saviour !  Now  it  appears 
that  such  is  the  holiness  and  justice  of  God,  that  he  will 
not  let  even  his  own  Son  escape  unpunished,  when  he 
stands  in  the  law-place  of  sinners,  though  guilty  only  by 
the  slight  stain  (may  I  so  speak)  of  imputation.  Could 
the  execution  of  everlasting  punishment  upon  the  hateful 
criminals  themselves  ever  give  so  bright  a  display  of  these 
attributes?  It  were  impossible.  Again, 

Was  it  a  difficulty  to  save  sinners,  and  yet  maintain  the 
rights  of  the  divine  government,  and  the  honour  of  the 
law  ?  See  how  this  difficulty  is  removed  by  the  obedience 
and  death  of  Christ !  Now  it  appears,  that  the  rights  of 
the  divine  government  are  so  sacred  and  inviolable,  that 
they  must  be  maintained,  though  the  darling  Son  of  God 
should  fall  a  sacrifice  to  justice ;  and  that  not  one  offence 
against  this  government  can  be  pardoned,  without  his 
making  a  full  atonement.  Now  it  appears,  that  the 
Supreme  Ruler  is  not  to  be  trifled  with,  but  that  his  in- 
jured honour  must  be  repaired,  though  at  the  expense  of 


120  THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION 

his  Son's  blood  and  life.  Now,  the  precept  of  the  law  is 
perfectly  obeyed  in  every  part,  and  a  full  equivalent  to  its 
penalty  endured,  by  a  person  of  infinite  dignity;  and  it  is 
only  upon  this  footing,  that  is,  of  complete  satisfaction  to 
all  the  demands  of  the  law,  that  any  of  the  rebellious  sons 
of  men  can  be  restored  into  favour.  This  is  a  satisfaction 
which  Christ  alone  could  give:  to  sinners  it  is  utterly  im- 
possible, either  by  doing  or  suffering.  They  cannot  do 
all  the  things  that  are  written  in  the  law;  nor  can  they  en- 
dure its  penalty,  without  being  for  ever  miserable :  and 
therefore  the  law  has  received  a  more  complete  satisfaction 
in  Christ  than  it  would  ever  receive  from  the  offenders 
themselves.  Further, 

-  Was  it  a  difficulty  how  sinners  might  be  saved,  and  yet 
the  evil  of  sin  be  displayed  in  all  its  horrors?  Go  to  the 
cross  of  Christ;  there,  ye  fools,  that  make  a  mock  of  sin, 
there  learn  its  malignity,  and  its  hatefulness  to  the  great 
God.  There  you  may  see  it  is  so  great  an  evil,  that  when 
it  is  but  imputed  to  the  man,  that  is  God's  fellow,  as  the 
surety  of  sinners,  it  cannot  escape  punishment.  No,  when 
that  dreadful  stain  lay  upon  him,  immediately  the  com- 
mission was  given  to  divine  justice,  Awake,  0  sword, 
against  my  Shepherd,  and  against  the  man  that  is  my  fel- 
low, saith  the  LORD  of  hosts;  smite  the  Shepherd.  Zech. 
xiii.  7. — When  Christ  stood  in  the  room  of  sinners,  even 
the  Father  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  gave  him  up  to 
death.  That  the  criminals  themselves,  who  are  an  in- 
ferior race  of  creatures,  should  not  escape  would  not  be 
strange  :  but  what  an  enormous  evil  must  that  be,  which 
cannot  be  connived  at  even  in  the  favourite  of  heaven,  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God !  Surely  nothing  besides  could 
give  so  striking  a  display  of  its  malignity ! 

Was  it  a  difficulty  how  to  reconcile  the  salvation  of  sin- 
ners, and  the  public  good  ?  that  is,  how  to  forgive  sins,  and 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  121 

yet  give  an  effectual  warning  against  it  ?  How  to  receive 
the  sinner  into  favour,  and  advance  him  to  the  highest 
honour  and  happiness,  and  in  the  mean  time  deter  all  other 
beings  from  offending?  All  this  is  provided  for  in  the 
sufferings  of  Christ  as  a  surety.  Let  all  worlds  look  to 
his  cross,  and  receive  the  warning  which  his  wounds,  and 
groans,  and  blood,  and  dying  agonies  proclaim  aloud ;  and 
sure  they  can  never  dare  to  offend  after  the  example  of 
man.  Now  they  may  see  that  the  only  instance  of  par- 
don to  be  found  in  the  universe  was  brought  about  by 
such  means  as  are  not  likely  to  be  repeated ;  by  the  incar- 
nation and  death  of  the  Lord  of  glory.  And  can  they 
flatter  themselves  that  he  will  leave  his  throne  and  hang 
upon  a  cross,  as  often  as  any  of  his  creatures  wantonly 
dare  to  offend  him?  No;  such  a  miracle  as  this,  the  ut- 
most effort  of  divine  grace,  is  not  often  to  be  renewed; 
and  therefore,  if  they  dare  to  sin,  it  is  at  their  peril. 
They  have  no  reason  to  flatter  themselves  they  shall  be 
favoured  like  fallen  man ;  but  rather  to  expect  they  shall 
share  in  the  doom  of  the  fallen  angels. 

Or  if  they  should  think  sin  may  escape  with  but  a 
slight  punishment,  here  they  may  be  convinced  of  the  con- 
trary. If  the  Darling  of  heaven,  the  Lord  of  glory,  though 
personally  innocent,  suffers  so  much  when  sin  is  but  im- 
puted to  him,  what  shall  the  sinners  themselves  feel,  who 
can  claim  no  favour  upon  the  footing  of  their  own  import- 
ance, or  personal  innocence  ?  If  these  things  be  done  "  in 
the  green  tree,  what  shall  be  done  in  the  dry  ?" 

Thus,  my  brethren,  you  may  see  how  a  way  is  opened 
through  Jesus  Christ  for  our  salvation.  All  the  ends  of 
government  may  be  answered,  and  yet  you  pardoned,  and 
made  happy.  Those  attributes  of  the  divine  nature,  such 
as  mercy  and  justice,  which  seemed  to  clash,  are  now 

reconciled ;  now  they  mingle  their  beams,  and  both  shine 
VOL.  I.— 16 


122  THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION 

4 

with  a  brighter  glory  in  the  salvation  of  sinners,  than 
either  of  them  could  apart.  And  must  you  not  acknow- 
ledge this  divine  God-like  scheme  ?  Can  you  look  round 
you  over  the  works  of  the  creation,  and  see  the  divine 
wisdom  in  every  object,  and  can  you  not  perceive  the 
divine  agency  in  this  still  more  glorious  work  of  redemp- 
tion ?  Redemption,  which  gives  a  full  view  of  the  Deity, 
not  as  the  sun  in  eclipse,  half  dark,  half  bright,  but  as 

A  God  all  o'er  consummate,  absolute, 

Full  orb'd,  in  his  whole  round  of  rays  complete. — YOUNG. 

And  shall  not  men  and  angels  join  in  wonder  and  praise 
at  the  survey  of  this  amazing  scheme  ?  Angels  are  wrapt 
in  wonder  and  praise,  and  will  be  so  to  all  eternity.  See ! 
how  they  pry  into  this  mystery!  hark!  how  they  sing! 
"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest ;"  and  celebrate  the  Lamb 
that  was  slain !  and  shall  not  men,  who  are  personally 
interested  in  the  affair,  join  with  them  ?  Oh !  are  there 
none  to  join  with  them  in  this  assembly?  Surely,  none 
can  refuse ! 

Now,  since  all  obstructions  are  removed  on  God's  part, 
that  lay  in  the  way  of  our  salvation,  why  should  we  not 
all  be  saved  together?  What  is  there  to  hinder  our 
crowding  into  heaven  promiscuously  ?  Or  what  is  there 
requisite  on  our  part,  in  order  to  make  us  partakers  of  this 
salvation  ? ,  Here  it  is  proper  to  pass  on  to  the  next  truth 
inferred  from  the  text,  namely : 

III.  That  the  grand  pre-requisite  to  your  being  saved 
in  this  way,  is  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Though  the  obstruc- 
tions on  God's  part  are  removed  by  the  death  of  Christ, 
yet  there  is  one  remaining  in  the  sinner,  which  cannot  be 
removed  without  his  consent ;  and  which,  while  it  remains, 
renders  his  salvation  impossible  in  the  nature  of  things ; 
that  is,  the  depravity  and  corruption  of  his  nature.  Till 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  123 

this  is  cured,  he  cannot  relish  those  fruitions  and  employ- 
ments in  which  the  happiness  of  heaven  consists,  and  con- 
sequently he  cannot  be  happy  there.  Therefore  there  is 
a  necessity,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  that  he  should  be' 
made  holy,  in  order  to  be  saved ;  nay,  his  salvation  itself 
consists  in  holiness.  Now,  faith  is  the  root  of  all  holiness 
in  a  sinner.  Without  a  firm  realizing  belief  of  the  great 
truths  of  the  gospel,  it  is  impossible  a  sinner  should  be 
sanctified  by  their  influence :  and  without  a  particular  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ  he  cannot  derive  from  him  those  sanctifying 
influences  by  which  alone  he  can  be  made  holy,  and  which 
are  conveyed  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  through  him  alone. 

Further :  It  would  be  highly  incongruous,  and  indeed 
impossible,  to  save  a  sinner  against  his  will,  or  in  a  way 
he  dislikes.  Now  faith,  as  you  shall  see  presently,  prin- 
cipally consists  in  .a  hearty  consent  to  and  approbation  of 
the  way  of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  way 
in  which  a  sinner  can  be  saved  consistently  with  the  divine 
honour :  so  that  the  constitution  of  the  gospel  is  not  only 
just,  but  as  merciful  as  it  can  be,  when  it  ordains  that  only 
he  that  believeth  shall  be  saved ;  but  that  he  that  believeth 
not,  shall  be  damned. 

Again  :  We  cannot  be  saved  through  Jesus  Christ,  till 
his  righteousness  be  so  far  made  ours  as  that  it  will  answer 
the  demands  of  the  laws  for  us,  and  procure  the  favour  of 
God  to  us;  but  his  righteousness  cannot  be  thus  im- 
puted to  us,  or  accounted  ours  in  law,  till  we  are  so  united 
to  him  as  to  be  one  in  law,  or  one  legal  person  with 
him.  Now  faith  is  the  bond  of  union ;  faith  is  that  which 
interests  us  in  Christ;  and  therefore  without  faith  we  can- 
not receive  any  benefit  from  his  righteousness. 

Here  then  a  most  interesting  inquiry  presents  itself: 
"  What  is  it  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  ?  or  what  is  that 
faith  which  is  the  grand  pre-requisite  to  salvation  1"  If 


124  THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION 

you  are  capable  of  attention  to  the  most  interesting  affair 
in  all  the  world,  attend  to  this  with  the  utmost  seriousness 
and  solemnity. 

Faith  in  Christ  includes  something  speculative  in  it; 
that  is,  it  includes  a  speculative  rational  belief,  upon  the 
testimony  of  God,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  Saviour 
of  men.  But  yet  it  is  not  entirely  a  speculation,  like  the 
faith  of  multitudes  among  us :  it  is  a  more  practical,  expe- 
rimental thing ;  and  that  you  may  understand  its  nature, 
you  must  take  notice  of  the  following  particulars. 

(1.)  Faith  pre-supposes  a  deep  sense  of  our  undone, 
helpless  condition.  I  told  you  before,  this  is  the  condition 
of  the  woVld  without  Christ ;  and  you  must  be  sensible  at 
heart  that  this  is  your  condition  in  particular,  before  you 
can  believe  in  him  as  your  Saviour.  He  came  to  be  a 
Saviour  in  a  desperate  case,  when  no  relief  could  possibly 
be  had  from  any  other  quarter,  and  you  cannot  receive 
him  under  that  character  till  you  feel  yourselves  in  such  a 
case ;  therefore,  in  order  to  your  believing,  all  your  pleas 
and  excuses  for  your  sins  must  be  silenced,  all  your  high 
conceit  of  your  own  goodness  must  be  mortified,  all  your 
dependence  upon  your  own  righteousness,  upon  the  merit  of 
your  prayers,  your  repentance,  and  good  works,  must  be 
cast  down,  and  you  must  feel  that  indeed  you  lie  at  mercy, 
that  God  may  justly  reject  you  for  ever,  and  that  all  you 
can  do  can  bring  him  under  no  obligation  to  save  you. 
These  things  you  must  be  deeply  sensible  of,  otherwise 
you  can  never  receive  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  that  view  in 
which  he  is  proposed  to  you,  namely,  as  a  Saviour  in  a 
desperate  case. 

I  wish  and  pray  you  may  this  day  see  yourselves  in  this 
true,  though  mortifying  light.  It  is  the  want  of  this  sense 
of  things  that  keeps  such  crowds  of  persons  unbelievers 
among  us.  It  is  the  want  of  this  that  causes  the  Lord 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  125 

Jesus  to  be  so  little  esteemed,  so  little  sought  for,  so  little 
desired  among  us.  In  short,  it  is  the  want  of  this  that  is 
the  great  occasion  of  so  many  perishing  from  under  the 
gospel,  and,  as  it  were,  from  between  the  hands  of  a 
Saviour.  It  is  this,  alas!  that  causes  them  to  perish,  like 
the  impenitent  thief  on  the  cross,  with  a  Saviour  by  their 
side.  O  that  you  once  rightly  knew  yourselves,  you 
would  then  soon  know  Jesus  Christ,  and  receive  salvation 
from  his  hand. 

(2.)  Faith  implies  the  enlightening  of  the  understand- 
ing to  discover  the  suitableness  of  Jesus  Christ  as  a 
Saviour,  and  the  excellency  of  the  way  of  salvation 
through  him.  While  the  sinner  lies  undone  and  helpless 
in  himself,  and  looking  about  in  vain  for  some  relief,  it 
pleases  a  gracious  God  to  shine  into  his  heart,  and  ena- 
bles him  to  see  his  glory  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Now  this  once  neglected  Saviour  appears  not  only  abso- 
lutely necessary,  but  also  all-glorious  and  lovely,  and  the 
sinner's  heart  is  wrapt  away,  and  for  ever  captivated  with 
his  beauty :  now  the  neglected  gospel  appears  in  a  new 
light,  as  different  from  all  his  former  apprehensions  as  if  it 
were  quite  another  thing.  I  have  not  time  at  present  to 
enlarge  upon  this  discovery  of  Christ  and  the  gospel  which 
faith  includes;  and  indeed  should  I  dwell  upon  it  ever  so 
long,  I  could  not  convey  just  ideas  of  it  to  such  of  you  as 
have  never  had  the  happy  experience  of  it.  In  short,  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  the  way  of  salvation  through  him,  appear 
perfectly  suitable,  all-sufficient,  and  all-glorious :  and  in 
consequence  of  this, 

(3.)  The  sinner  is  enabled  to  embrace  this  Saviour  with 
all  his  heart,  and  to  give  a  voluntary,  cheerful  consent  to 
this  glorious  scheme  of  salvation.  Now  all  his  former  un- 
willingness and  reluctance  are  subdued,  and  his  heart  no 
more  draws  back  from  the  terms  of  the  gospel,  but  he 


126  THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION 

complies  with  them,  and  that  not  merely  out  of  constraint 
and  necessity,  but  out  of  free  choice,  and  with  the  great- 
est pleasure  and  delight.  How  does  his  heart  now  cling 
to  the  blessed  Jesus  with  the  most  affectionate  endearment ! 
How  is  he  lost  in  wonder,  joy,  and  gratitude,  at  the  survey 
of  the  divine  perfections,  as  displayed  in  this  method  of 
redemption  !  How  does  he  rejoice  in  it,  as  not  only  bring- 
ing happiness  to  him,  but  glory  to  God ;  as  making  his  sal- 
vation not  only  consistent  with,  but  a  bright  illustration  of, 
the  divine  perfections,  and  the  dignity  of  his  government ! 
While  he  had  no  other  but  the  low  and  selfish  principles 
of  corrupt  nature,  he  had  no  concern  about  the  honour  of 
God ;  if  he  might  be  but  saved,  it  was  all  he  was  solici- 
tous about :  but  now  he  has  a  noble,  generous  heart ;  now 
he  is  concerned  that  God  should  be  honoured  in  his  salva- 
tion, and  this  method  of  salvation  is  recommended  and  en- 
deared to  him  by  the  thought  that  it  secures  to  God  the 
supremacy,  and  makes  his  salvation  subservient  to  the 
divine  glory. 

(4.)  Faith  in  Jesus  Christ  implies  an  humble  trust  or 
dependence  upon  him  alone  for  the  pardon  of  sin,  accept- 
ance with  God,  and  every  blessing.  As  I  told  you  before, 
the  sinner's  self-confidence  is  mortified;  he  gives  up  all 
hopes  of  acceptance  upon  the  footing  of  his  own  right- 
eousness; he  is  filled  with  self-despair,  and  yet  he  does 
not  despair  absolutely;  he  does  not  give  up  himself  as 
lost,  but  has  cheerful  hopes  of  becoming  a  child  of  God, 
and  being  for  ever  happy,  guilty  and  unworthy  as  he 
is;  and  what  are  these  hopes  founded  upon?  Why, 
upon  the  mere  free  grace  and  mercy  of  God,  through 
the  righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ.  On  this  he  ven- 
tures a  guilty,  unworthy,  helpless  soul,  and  finds  it  a 
firm,  immovable  foundation,  while  every  other  ground  of 
dependence  proves  but  a  quicksand.  There  are  many 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  127 

that  flatter  themselves  they  put  their  trust  in  God ;  but 
their  trust  wants  sundry  qualifications  essential  to  a  true 
faith.  It  is  not  the  trust  of  an  humble  helpless  soul  that 
draws  all  its  encouragement  from  the  mere  mercy  of  God, 
and  the  free  indefinite  offer  of  the  gospel;  but  it  is  the 
presumptuous  trust  of  a  proud  self-confident  sinner,  who 
draws  his  encouragement  in  part  at  least  from  his  imagi- 
nary goodness  and  importance.  It  is  not  a  trust  in  the 
mercy  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  only  medium 
through  which  it  can  be  honourably  conveyed ;  but  either 
in  the  absolute  mercy  of  God,  without  a  proper  refer- 
ence to  a  Mediator,  or  in  his  mercy,  as  in  some  measure 
deserved  or  moved  by  something  in  the  sinner.  Examine 
whether  your  trust  in  God  will  stand  this  test. 

I  have  now  given  you  a  brief  answer  to  that  grand  ques- 
tion, What  is  it  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ?  and  I  hope  you 
understand  it,  though  I  have  not  enlarged  so  much  upon 
it  as  I  willingly  would.  I  shall  only  add,  that  this  faith 
may  also  be  known  by  its  inseparable  effects ;  which  are 
such  as  follow.  Faith  purifies  the  heart,  and  is  a  lively 
principle  of  inward  holiness.  Faith  is  always  productive 
of  good  works,  and  leads  us  to  universal  obedience :  faith 
overcomes  the  world  and  all  its  temptations :  faith  realizes 
eternal  things,  and  brings  them  near ;  and  hence  it  is  de- 
fined by  the  apostle,  The  substance  of  things  hoped  for, 
the  evidence  of  things  not  seen.  Heb.  xi.  1.  Here  I  have 
a  very  important  question  to  propose  to  you :  Who  among 
you  can  say,  "  Well,  notwithstanding  all  my  imperfections, 
and  all  my  doubts  and  fears,  I  cannot  but  humbly  hope, 
after  the  best  examination  I  can  make,  that  such  a  faith 
has  been  produced  in  this  heart  of  mine  ?"  And  can  you 
say  so  indeed?  Then  I  bring  you  glad  tidings  of  great 
joy;  you  shall  be  saved:  yes,  saved  you  shall  be,  in  spite 
of  earth  and  hell;  saved,  however  great  your  past  sins 


128  THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION 

have  been.  Which  thought  introduces  the  glorious  truth 
that  comes  next  in  order,  namely : — 

IV.  My  text  implies,  that  every  one,  without  exception, 
whatever  his  former  character  has  been,  that  is  enabled  to 
believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  shall  certainly  be  saved. 

The  number  or  aggravations  of  sins  do  not  alter  the 
case;  and  the  reason  is,  the  sinner  is  not  received  into 
favour,  in  whole  or  in  part,  upon  the  account  of  any  thing 
personal,  but  solely  and  entirely  upon  the  account  of  the 
righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ.  Now,  this  righteousness  is 
perfectly  equal  to  all  the  demands  of  the  law;  and  there- 
fore, when  this  righteousness  is  made  over  to  the  sinner  as 
his  by  imputation,  the  law  has  no  more  demands  upon  him 
for  great  sins  than  for  small,  for  many  than  for  few ;  be- 
cause all  demands  are  fully  satisfied  by  the  obedience  of 
Jesus  Christ  to  the  law.  You  see  that  sinners  of  all  cha- 
racters who  believe  in  him  are  put  upon  an  equality  in  this 
respect :  they  are  all  admitted  upon  one  common  footing, 
the  righteousness  of  Christ ;  and  that  is  as  sufficient  for  one 
as  another. 

This  encouraging  truth  has  the  most  abundant  support 
from  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Observe  the  agreeable  indefi- 
nite whosoever  so  often  repeated.  "  Whosoever  believeth 
in  him,  shall  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  W^ho- 
soever  he  be,  however  vile,  however  guilty,  however  un- 
worthy, if  he  does  but  believe,  he  shall  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life.  What  an  agreeable  assurance  is  this 
from  the  lips  of  him  who  has  the  final  states  of  men  at  his 
disposal !  The  same  blessed  lips  have  also  declared,  Him 
that  cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.  John  vi.  37. 
And  Whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely. 
Rev.  xxii.  17.  He  has  given  you  more  than  bare  words 
to  establish  you  in  the  belief  of  this  truth ;  upon  this  prin- 
ciple he  has  acted,  choosing  some  of  the  most  abandoned 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  129 

sinners  to  make  them  examples,  not  of  his  justice,  as  we 
might  expect,  but  of  his  mercy,  for  the  encouragement  of 
others.  In  the  days  of  his  flesh  he  was  reproached  by  his 
enemies  for  his  friendship  to  publicans  and  sinners;  but 
sure  it  is,  instead  of  reproaching,  we  must  love  him  on  this 
account.  When  he  rose  from  the  dead,  he  did  not  rise 
with  angry  resentment  against  his  murderers;  no,  but  he 
singles  them  out  from  a  world  of  sinners,  to  make  them 
the  first  offers  of  pardon  through  the  blood  which  they 
had  just  shed.  He  orders  that  repentance  and  remission 
of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his  name  among  all  nations, 
beginning  at  Jerusalem.  Luke  xxiv.  47.  At  Jerusalem, 
where  he  had  been  crucified  a  few  days  before,  there  he 
orders  the  first  publication  of  pardon  and  life  to  be  made. 
You1  may  see  what  monsters  of  sin  he  chose  to  make  the 
monuments  of  his  grace  in  Corinth.  Neither  fornicators, 
nor  idolaters,  nor  adulterers,  nor  effeminate,  nor  abusers 
of  themselves  with  mankind,  nor  thieves,  nor  covetous,  nor 
drunkards,  nor  revilers,  nor  extortioners,  shall  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God.  What  a  dismal  catalogue  is  this !  It 
is  no  wonder  such  a  crew  should  not  inherit  the  kingdom 
of  heaven ;  they  are  fit  only  for  the  infernal  prison ;  and 
yet  astonishing !  it  follows,  such  were  some  of  you ;  but  ye 
are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified,  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God. 
1  Cor.  vi.  9— 11.  What  sinner  after  this  can  despair  of 
mercy  upon  his  believing  in  Jesus !  St.  Paul  was  another 
instance  of  the  same  kind :  "  This,"  says  he,  "  is  a  faithful 
saying,"  a  saying  that  may  be  depended  on  as  true,  "  and 
worthy  of  all  acceptation,"  from  a  guilty  world,  that  Christ 
Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners  ;  of  whom  I  am 
chief.  Howbeit,for  this  cause  I  obtained  mercy,  that  in 
me  first  Jesus  Christ  might  show  forth  all  long  suffering, 
for  a  pattern  to  them  which  should  hereafter  believe  in  him 
Vom  I.— 17 


130  THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION 

to  life  everlasting.  1  Tim.  i.  15,  16.  A  sinner  of  less  size 
would  not  have  answered  this  end  so  well ;  but  if  Saul  the 
persecutor  obtains  mercy  upon  his  believing,  wjio  can  de- 
spair? 

You  see  upon  the  whole,  my  brethren,  you  are  not  ex- 
cluded from  Christ  and  life  by  the  greatness  of  your  sins ; 
but  if  you  perish  it  must  be  from  another  cause :  it  must 
be  on  account  of  your  wilful  unbelief  in  not  accepting  of 
Jesus  Christ  as  your  Saviour.  If  you  reject  him,  then  in- 
deed you  must  perish,  however  small  your  sins  have  been ; 
for  it  is  only  his  death  that  can  make  atonement  for  the 
slightest  guilt;  and  if  you  have  no  interest  in  that,  the 
guilt  of  the  smallest  sin  will  sink  you  into  ruin. 

Here  is  a  door  wide  enough  for  you  all,  if  you  will  but 
enter  in  by  faith.  Come,  then,  enter  in,  you  that  have 
hitherto  claimed  a  horrid  precedence  in  sin,  that  have 
been  ringleaders  in  vice,  come  now  take  the  lead,  and 
show  others  the  way  to  Jesus  Christ;  harlots,  publicans, 
thieves,  and  murderers,  if  such  be  among  you,  there  is 
salvation  even  for  you,  if  you  will  but  believe.  Oh  !  how 
astonishing  is  the  love  of  God  discovered  in  this  way :  a 
consideration  which  introduces  the  last  inference  from  my 
text,  namely, 

V.  That  the  constitution  of  this  method  of  salvation,  or 
the  mission  of  a  Saviour  into  our  world,  is  a  most  striking 
and  astonishing  display  of  the  love  of  God : — God  so  loved 
the  world  as  to  give  his  only  begotten  Son,  &c. 

View  the  scheme  all  through,  and  you  will  discover 
love,  infinite  love,  in  every  part  of  it.  Consider  the  great 
God  as  self-happy  and  independent  upon  all  his  creatures, 
and  what  but  love,  self-moved  love,  could  excite  him  to 
make  such  provision  for  an  inferior  part  of  them!  Con- 
sider the  world  sunk  in  sin,  not  only  without  merit,  but 

most  deserving  of  everlasting  punishment,  and  what  but 

*    , 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  131 

love  could  move  him  to  have  mercy  upon  such  a  world  ? 
Consider  the  Saviour  provided,  not  an  angel,  not  the 
highest  creature,  but  his  Son,  his  only  begotten  Son;  and 
what  but  love  could  move  him  to  appoint  such  a  Saviour  1 
Consider  the  manner  in  which  he  was  sent,  as  a  gift,  a 
free  unmerited  gift;  "God  gave  his  only  begotten  Son:" 
And  what  but  infinite  love  could  give  such  an  unspeakable 
gift?  Consider  the  blessings  conferred  through  this 
Saviour,  deliverance  from  perdition  and  the  enjoyment  of 
everlasting  life,  and  what  but  the  love  of  God  could  confer 
such  blessings?  Consider  the  condition  upon  which  these 
blessings  are  offered,  faith,  that  humble,  self-emptied  grace, 
so  suitable  to  the  circumstances  of  a  poor  sinner,  that 
brings  nothing,  but  receives  all,  and  what  but  divine  love 
could  make  such  a  gracious  appointment?  It  is  of  faith, 
that  it  might  be  by  grace.  Rom.  iv.  16.  Consider  the  in- 
definite extent  or  the  universality  of  the  offer,  which  takes 
in  sinners  of  the  vilest  character,  and  excepts  against 
none :  Whosoever  believeth  shall  not  perish,  &c.  Oh  what 
love  is  this!  But  I  must  leave  it  as  the  theme  of  your 
meditations,  not  only  in  the  house  of  your  pilgrimage, 
but  through  all  eternity:  eternity  will  be  short  enough  to 
pry  into  this  mystery,  and  it  will  employ  the  understandings 
of  men  and  angels  through  the  revolutions  of  eternal  ages. 
And  now,  my  brethren,  to  draw  towards  a  conclusion, 
I  would  hold  a  treaty  with  you  this  day  about  the  recon- 
ciliation to  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  I  have  this  day 
set  life  and  death  before  you:  I  have  opened  to  you  the 
method  of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ:  the  only  method 
in  which  you  can  be  saved;  the  only  method  that  could 
afford  a  gleam  of  hope  to  such  a  sinner  as  I  in  my  late 
approach  to  the  eternal  world.*  And  now  I  would  bring 

*  This  sermon  was  preached  a  little  after  recovery  from  a  severe  fit  of 
sickness,  and  is  dated  Hanover,  October  2,  1757. 


132 

the  matter  home,  and  propose  it  to  you  all  to  consent  to 
be  saved  in  this  method,  or,  in  other  words,  to  believe  in 
the  only  begdtten  Son  of  God;  this  proposal  I  seriously 
make  to  you:  and  let  heaven  and  earth,  and  your  own 
consciences,  witness  that  it  is  made  to  you:  I  also  insist 
for  a  determinate  answer  this  day;  the  matter  will  not  ad- 
mit of  a  delay,  and  the  duty  is  so  plain,  that  there  is  no 
need  of  time  to  deliberate.  A  Roman  ambassador,  treat- 
ing about  peace  with  the  ambassador  of  a  neighbouring 
state,  if  I  remember  rightly,  and  finding  him  desirous  to 
gain  time  by  shuffling  and  tedious  negotiations,  drew  a 
circle  about  him,  and  said,  "  I  demand  an  answer  before 
you  go  out  of  this  circle."  Such  a  circle  let  the  walls  of 
this  house,  or  the  extent  of  my  voice,  be  to  you:  before 
you  leave  this  house,  or  go  out  of  hearing,  I  insist  on  a 
full,  decisive  answer  of  this  proposal,  Whether  you  will  be- 
lieve in  Jesus  Christ  this  day,  or  not  ? 

But  before  I  proceed  any  farther,  I  would  remove  one 
stumbling-block  out  of  your  way.  You  are  apt  to  object, 
"You  teach  us  that  faith  is  the  gift  of  God,  and  that  we 
cannot  believe  of  ourselves;  why  then  do  you  exhort  us 
to  it?  Or  how  can  we  be  concerned  to  endeavour  that 
which  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  do  ?" 

In  answer  to  this  I  grant  the  premises  are  true;  and 
God  forbid  I  should  so  much  as  intimate  that  faith  is  the 
spontaneous  growth  of  corrupt  nature,  or  that  you  can 
come  to  Christ  without  the  Father's  drawing  you :  but  the 
conclusions  you  draw  from  these  premises  are  very 
erroneous.  I  exhort  and  persuade  you  to  believe  in 
Jesus  Christ,  because  it  is  while  such  means  are  used 
with  sinners,  and  by  the  use  of  them,  that  it  pleases  God 
to  enable  them  to  comply,  or  to  work  faith  in  them.  I 
would  therefore  use  those  means  which  God  is  pleased 
to  bless  for  this  end.  I  exhort  you  to  believe  in  order  to 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  133 

set  you  upon  the  trial ;  for  it  is  putting  it  to  trial,  and  that 
only,  which  can  fully  convince  you  of  your  own  inability 
to  believe;  and  till  you  are  convinced  of  this,  you  can 
never  expect  strength  from  God.  I  exhort  you  to  believe, 
because,  sinful  and  enfeebled  as  you  are,  you  are  capable 
of  using  various  preparatives  to  faith.  You  may  attend 
upon  prayer,  hearing,  and  all  the  outward  means  of  grace 
with  natural  seriousness;  you  may  endeavour  to  get  ac- 
quainted with  your  own  helpless  condition,  and,  as  it 
were,  put  yourselves  in  the  way  of  divine  mercy;  and 
though  all  these  means  cannot  of  themselves  produce  faith 
in  you,  yet  it  is  only  in  the  use  of  these  means  you  are 
to  expect  divine  grace  to  work  it  in  you :  never  was  it  yet 
produced  in  one  soul,  while  lying  supine,  lazy,  and  in- 
active. 

I  hope  you  now  see  good  reasons  why  I  should  exhort 
you  to  believe,  and  also  perceive  my  design  in  it;  I  there- 
fore renew  the  proposal  to  you,  that  you  should  this  day, 
as  guilty,  unworthy,  self-despairing  sinners,  accept  of  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God  as  your  Saviour,  and  fall  in 
with  the  gospel-method  of  salvation;  and  I  once  more  de- 
mand your  answer.  I  would  by  no  means,  if  possible, 
leave  the  pulpit  this  day  till  I  have  effectually  recom- 
mended the  blessed  Jesus,  my  Lord  and  Master,  to  your 
acceptance.  I  am  strongly  bound  by  the  vows  and  reso- 
lutions of  a  sick  bed  to  recommend  him  to  you;  and  now 
I  would  endeavour  to  perform  my  vows.  I  would  have 
us  all  this  day,  before  we  part,  consent  to  God's  covenant, 
that  we  may  go  away  justified  to  our  houses. 

To  this  I  persuade  and  exhort  you,  in  the  name  and  by 
the  authority  of  the  great  God,  by  the  death  of  Jesus 
Christ  for  sinners,  by  your  own  most  urgent  and  absolute 
necessity,  by  the  immense  blessings  proposed  in  the  gospel, 
and  by  the  heavy  curse  denounced  against  unbelievers. 


134  THE    METHOD    OF    SALVATION 

All  the  blessings  of  the  gospel,  pardon  of  sin,  sanctify- 
ing grace,  eternal  life,  and  whatever  you  can  want,  shall 
become  yours  this  day,  if  you  but  believe  in  the  Son  of 
God;  then  let  desolation  overrun  our  land,  let  public  and 
private  calamities  crowd  upon  you,  and  make  you  so 
many  Jobs  for  poverty  and  affliction,  still  your  main  in- 
terest is  secure;  the  storms  and  waves  of  trouble  can  only 
bear  you  to  heaven,  and  hasten  your  passage  to  the 
harbour  of  eternal  rest.  Let  devils  accuse  you  before 
God,  let  conscience  indict  you  and  bring  you  in  guilty, 
let  the  fiery  law  make  its  demands  upon  you,  you  have  a 
righteousness  in  Jesus  Christ  that  is  sufficient  to  answer 
all  demands,  and  having  received  it  by  faith,  you  may 
plead  it  as  your  own  in  law.  Happy  souls !  rejoice  in 
hope  of  the  glory  of  God,  for  your  hope  will  never  make 
you  ashamed! 

But  I  expect,  as  usual,  some  of  you  will  refuse  to 
comply  with  this  proposal.  This,  alas!  has  been  the 
usual  fate  of  the  blessed  gospel  in  all  ages  and  in  all 
countries;  as  some  have  received  it,  so  some  have  rejected 
it.  That  old  complaint  of  Isaiah  has  been  justly  repeated 
thousands  of  times;  Who  hath  believed  our  report  ?  and  to 
whom  is  the  arm  a/the  LORD  revealed  ?  Isa.  liii.  1.  And 
is  there  no  reason  to  pour  it  out  from  a  broken  heart 
over  some  of  you,  my  dear  people  ?  Are  you  all  this  day 
determined  to  believe?  If  so,  I  pronounce  you  blessed 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord ;  but  if  not,  I  must  denounce  your 
doom. 

Be  it  known  to  you  then  from  the  living  God,  that  if 
you  thus  continue  in  unbelief,  you  shut  the  door  of 
mercy  against  yourselves,  and  exclude  yourselves  from 
eternal  life.  Whatever  splendid  appearances  of  virtue, 
whatever  amiable  qualities,  whatever  seeming  good  works 
you  have,  the  express  sentence  of  the  gospel  lies  in  full 


THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST.  135 

force  against  you,  He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned. 
Mark  xvi.  16.  He  that  believeth  not  is  condemned  al- 
ready, because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God.  John  iii.  18.  He  that  believeth  not 
the  Son,  shall  not  see  life ;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth 
upon  him.  John  iii.  36.  This  is  your  doom  repeatedly 
pronounced  by  him  whom  you  must  own  to  be  the  best 
friend  of  human  nature;  and  if  he  condemn,  who  can 
justify  you  ? 

Be  it  also  known  to  you,  that  you  will  not  only  perish, 
but  you  will  perish  with  peculiar  aggravations ;  you  will 
fall  with  no  common  ruin;  you  will  envy  the  lot  of 
heathens  who  perished  without  the  law ;  for  oh !  you  incur 
the  peculiarly  enormous  guilt  of  rejecting  the  gospel,  and 
putting  contempt  upon  the  Son  of  God.  This  is  a  horrid 
exploit  of  wickedness,  and  this  God  resents  above  all  the 
other  crimes  of  which  human  nature  is  capable.  Hence 
Christ  is  come  for  judgment  as  well  as  for  mercy  into  this 
world,  and  he  is  set  for  the  fall  as  well  as  the  rising  again 
of  many  in  Israel.  You  now  enjoy  the  light  of  the  gospel, 
which  has  conducted  many  through  this  dark  world  to 
eternal  day ;  but  remember  also,  this  is  the  condemnation ; 
that  is,  it  is  the  occasion  of  the  most  aggravated  condem- 
nation, that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  love  dark- 
ness rather  than  light.  On  this  principle  Jesus  pro- 
nounced the  doom  of  Chorazin  and  Bethsaida  more  intoler- 
able than  that  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  Matt.  xi.  21,  22. 
And  would  it  not  be  hard  to  find  a  place  in  Virginia  where 
the  doom  of  unbelievers  is  likely  to  be  so  terrible  as 
among  us? 

And  now  does  not  all  this  move  you  ?  Are  you  not 
alarmed  at  the  thought  of  perishing ;  of  perishing  by  the 
hand  of  a  Saviour  rejected  and  despised;  perishing  under 
the  stain  of  his  profaned  blood ;  perishing  not  only  under 


136       METHOD    OF    SALVATION    THROUGH    JESUS    CHRIST. 

the  curse  of  the  law,  but  under  that  of  the  gospel,  which  is 
vastly  heavier  ?  Oh !  are  you  hardy  enough  to  venture 
upon  such  a  doom  ?  This  doom  is  unavoidable  if  you 
refuse  to  comply  with  the  proposal  now  made  to  you. 

I  must  now  conclude  the  treaty;  but  for  my  own  ac- 
quittance, I  must  take  witness  that  I  have  endeavoured  to 
discharge  my  commission,  whatever  reception  you  give  it. 
I  call  heaven  and  earth,  and  your  own  consciences  to  wit- 
ness, that  life  and  salvation,  through  Jesus  Christ,  have 
been  offered  to  you  on  this  day;  and  if  you  reject  it, 
remember  it ;  remember  it  whenever  you  see  this  place ; 
remember  it  whenever  you  see  my  face,  or  one  another ; 
remember  it,  that  you  may  witness  for  me  at  the  supreme 
tribunal,  that  I  am  clear  of  your  blood.  Alas !  you  will 
remember  it  among  a  thousand  painful  reflections  millions 
of  ages  hence,  when  the  remembrance  of  it  will  rend  your 
hearts  like  a  vulture.  Many  sermons  forgotten  upon  earth 
are  remembered  in  hell,  and  haunt  the  guilty  mind  for 
ever.  Oh  that  you  would  believe,  and  so  prevent  this 
dreadful  effect  from  the  present  sermon ! 


SINNERS    ENTREATED   TO   BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD.     137 


SERMON  III. 

SINNERS    ENTREATED    TO    BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD. 

2  COR.  v.  20. — Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christy 
as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us :  we  pray  you  in 
Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God. 

To  preside  in  the  solemnities  of  public  worship,  to 
direct  your  thoughts,  and  choose  for  you  the  subjects  of 
your  meditation  on  those  sacred  hours  which  you  spend 
in  the  house  of  God,  and  upon  the  right  improvement  of 
which  your  everlasting  happiness  so  much  depends,  this 
is  a  province  of  the  most  tremendous  importance  that  can 
be  devolved  upon  a  mortal ;  and  every  man  of  the  sacred 
character  who  knows  what  he  is  about,  must  tremble  at 
the  thought,  and  be  often  anxiously  perplexed  what  subject 
he  shall  choose,  what  he  shall  say  upon  it,  and  in  what 
manner  he  shall  deliver  his  message.  His  success  in  a 
great  measure  depends  upon  his  choice,  for  though  the 
blessed  Spirit  is  the  proper  agent,  and  though  the  best 
means,  without  his  efficacious  concurrence,  are  altogether 
fruitless,  yet  he  is  wont  to  bless  those  means  that  are  best 
adapted  to  do  good ;  and  after  a  long  course  of  languid 
and  fruitless  efforts,  which  seem  to  have  been  unusually 
disowned  by  my  divine  Master,  what  text  shall  I  choose 
out  of  the  inexhaustible  treasure  of  God's  word  ?  In 
what  new  method  shall  I  speak  upon  it  ?  What  new  un- 
tried experiments  shall  I  make?  Blessed  Jesus!  my 
heavenly  Master !  direct  thy  poor  perplexed  servant  who 
is  at  a  loss,  and  knows  not  what  to  do ;  direct  him  that  has 
tried,  and  tried  again,  all  the  expedients  he  could  think  of) 

VOL.!.— 18 


138  SINNERS    ENTREATED 

but  almost  in  vain,  and  now  scarcely  knows  what  it  is  to 
hope  for  success !  Divine  direction,  my  brethren,  has 
been  sought;  and  may  I  hope  it  is  that  which  has  turned 
my  mind  to  address  you  this  day  on  the  important  subject 
of  your  reconciliation  to  God,  and  to  become  an  humble 
imitator  of  the  great  St.  Paul,  whose  affecting  words  I 
have  read  to  you.  Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for 
Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us ;  we  pray 
you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God. 

The  introduction  to  this  passage  you  find  in  the  fore- 
going verses,  God  hath  given  to  us  (the  apostles)  the  min- 
istry of  reconciliation;  the  sum  and  substance  of  which 
is,  namely,  "That  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the 
world  unto  himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto 
them."  As  if  he  had  said,  "  The  great  Sovereign  of  the 
universe,  though  highly  provoked,  and  justly  displeased 
with  our  rebellious  world,  has  been  so  gracious  as  to  con- 
trive a  plan  of  reconciliation  whereby  they  may  not  only 
escape  the  punishment  they  deserve,  but  also  be  restored 
to  the  favour  of  God,  and  all  the  privileges  of  his  favourite 
subjects.  This  plan  was  laid  in  Christ;  that  is,  it  was  he 
who  was  appointed,  and  undertook  to  remove  all  obstacles 
out  of  the  way  of  their  reconciliation,  so  that  if  might  be 
consistent  with  the  honour  and  dignity  of  God  and  his 
government.  This  he  performed  by  a  life  of  perfect 
obedience,  and  an  atoning  death,  instead  of  rebellious  man. 
Though  "  he  knew  no  sin"  of  his  own :  yet  "  he  was 
made  sin,"  that  is,  a  sin-offering,  or  a  sinner  by  imputation 
"  for  us,"  that  we  might  "  be  made  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  him."  Thus  all  hindrances  are  removed  on  God's 
part.  The  plan  of  a  treaty  of  reconciliation  is  formed, 
approved  and  ratified  in  the  court  of  heaven;  but  then  it 
must  be  published,  all  the  terms  made  known,  and  the 
consent  of  the  rebels  solicited  and  gained.  It  is  not 


TO    BE   RECONCILED    TO    GOD.  139 

enough  that  all  impediments  to  peace  are  removed  on 
God's  part;  they  must  also  be  removed  on  the  part  of 
man;  the  reconciliation  must  be  mutual;  both  the  parties 
must  agree.  Hence  arises  the  necessity  of  the  ministry 
of  reconciliation  which  was  committed  to  the  apostles, 
those  prime  ministers  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  in  a 
lower  sphere  to  the  ordinary  ministers  of  the  gospel  in 
every  age.  The  great  business  of  their  office  is  to  pub- 
lish the  treaty  of  peace;  that  is,  the  articles  of  reconcilia- 
tion, and  to  use  every  motive  to  gain  the  consent  of  man- 
kind to  these  articles.  It  is  this  office  St.  Paul  is  dis- 
charging, when  he  says,  We  are  ambassadors  for  Christ, 
as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us;  we  pray  you  in 
Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God. 

We  are  ambassadors  for  Christ.  The  proper  notion 
of  an  ambassador,  is  that  of  a  person  sent  by  a  king  to 
transact  affairs  in  his  name,  and  according  to  his  instructions, 
with  foreign  states,  or  part  of  his  subjects,  to  whom  he 
does  not  think  proper  to  go  himself  and  treat  with  them  in 
his  own  person.  Thus  a  peace  is  generally  concluded 
between  contending  nations,  not  by  their  kings  in  person, 
but  by  their  plenipotentiaries,  acting  in  their  name,  and  by 
their  authority ;  and,  while  they  keep  to  their  instructions, 
their  negotiations  and  agreements  are  as  valid  and  authen- 
tic as  if  they  were  carried  on  and  concluded  by  their 
masters  in  person.  Thus  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  not 
personally  present  in  our  world  to  manage  the  treaty  of 
peace  himself,  but  he  has  appointed  first  his  apostles,  and 
then  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  through  every  age,  to 
carry  it  on  in  his  name.  This  is  their  proper  character ; 
they  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  his  plenipotentiaries,  fur- 
nished with  a  commission  and  instructions  to  make  over- 
tures of  reconciliation  to  a  rebel  world,  and  treat  with 
them  to  gain  their  consent. 


140  SINNERS    ENTREATED 

Indeed,  aspiring  ecclesiastics  have  assumed  high  sound- 
ing titles  merely  to  produce  extravagant  honours  to 
themselves.  They  have  called  themselves  the  ambas- 
sadors of  Christ,  messengers  from  God,  the  plenipo- 
tentiaries and  viceroys  of  heaven,  and  I  know  not  what, 
not  with  a  design  to  do  honour  to  their  Master,  but  to 
keep  the  world  in  a  superstitious  awe  of  themselves. 
This  priestly  pride  and  insolence  I  utterly  abhor ;  and  yet 
I  humbly  adventure  to  assume  the  title  of  an  ambassador 
of  the  great  King  of  heaven,  and  require  you  to  regard  me 
in  this  high  character:  but  then  you  must  know,  that 
while  I  am  making  this  claim,  I  own  myself  obliged  invio- 
lably to  adhere  to  the  instructions  of  my  divine  Master 
contained  in  the  Bible.  I  have  no  power  over  your  faith, 
no  power  to  dictate  or  prescribe ;  but  my  work  is  only 
just  to  publish  the  articles  of  peace  as  my  Master  has 
established  and  revealed  them  in  his  word,  without  the 
least  addition,  diminution,  or  alteration.  I  pretend  to  no 
higher  power  than  this,  and  this  power  I  must  claim, 
unless  I  would  renounce  my  office;  for  who  can  consist- 
ently profess  himself  a  minister  of  Christ,  without  assert- 
ing his  right  and  power  to  publish  what  his  Lord  has 
taught,  and  communicate  his  royal  instructions  ? 

Therefore  without  usurping  an  equality  with  St.  Paul, 
or  his  fellow  apostles,  I  must  tell  you  in  his  language,  I 
appear  among  you  this  day  as  the  ambassador  of  the  most 
high  God;  I  am  discharging  an  embassy  for  Christ;*  and 
I  tell  you  this  with  no  other  design  than  to  procure  your 
most  serious  regard  to  what  I  say.  If  you  consider  it 
only  as  my  declaration,  whatever  regard  you  pay.  to  it,  the 
end  of  my  ministry  will  not  be  answered  upon  you.  The 
end  of  my  office  is  not  to  make  myself  the  object  of  your 
love  and  veneration,  but  to  reconcile  you  to  God;  but 

*  This  is  the  most  literal  translation  of  "fxcp  XptaTov  ovv  Trpeofitvopev. 


TO    BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD.  141 

you  cannot  be  reconciled  to  God  while  you  consider  the 
proposal  as  made  to  you  only  by  your  fellow  mortal.  You 
must  regard  it  as  made  to  you  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
great  Mediator  between  God  and  man.  I  not  only  allow, 
but  even  invite  and  charge  you  to  inquire  and  judge  whe- 
ther what  I  say  be  agreeable  to  my  divine  instructions, 
which  are  as  open  to  your  inspection  as  mine,  and  to  re- 
gard it  no  farther  than  it  is  so :  but  if  I  follow  these  in- 
structions, and  propose  the  treaty  of  peace  to  you  just  as 
it  is  concluded  in  heaven,  then  I  charge  you  to  regard 
it  as  proposed  by  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  King 
of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords,  though  through  my  unwor- 
thy lips.  Consider  yourselves  this  day  as  the  hearers  not 
of  a  preacher  formed  out  of  the  clay  like  yourselves,  but 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Suppose  him  here  in  person 
treating  with  you  about  your  reconciliation  to  God,  and 
what  regard  you  would  pay  to  a  proposal  made  by  him  in 
person,  with  all  his  divine  royalties  about  him,  that  you 
should  now  show  to  the  treaty  I  am  to  negotiate  with  you 
in  his  name  and  stead. 

The  next  sentence  in  my  text  binds  you  still  more 
strongly  to  this;  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us. 
As  if  he  had  said,  "  God  the  Father  also  concurs  in  this 
treaty  of  peace,  as  well  as  Christ  the  great  Peace-maker ; 
and  as  we  discharge  an  embassy  for  Christ,  so  we  do  also 
for  God;  and  you  are  to  regard  our  beseeching  and  ex- 
horting,* as  though  the  great  God  did  in  person  beseech 
and  exhort  you  by  us."  What  astonishing  condescension 
is  here  intimated !  not  that  the  ministers  of  Christ  should 
beseech  you ;  this  would  be  no  mighty  condescension : 
but  that  the  supreme  Jehovah  should  beseech  you ;  that 
he  should  not  only  command  you  with  a  stern  air  of  au- 
thority as  your  Sovereign,  but  as  a  friend,  nay,  as  a  peti- 

*  Trapaxa\ovfTOf  signifies  exhorting  as  well  as  beteechmg. 


142  SINNERS    ENTREATED 

tioner,  should  affectionately  beseech  you,  you  despicable, 
guilty  worms,  obnoxious  rebels !  How  astonishing,  how 
God-like,  how  unprecedented  and  inimitable  is  this  conde- 
scension !  Let  heaven  and  earth  admire  and  adore !  It 
is  by  us,  indeed,  by  us  your  poor  fellow  mortals,  that  he 
beseeches :  but  oh !  let  not  this  tempt  you  to  disregard  him 
or  his  entreaty;  though  he  employs  such  mean  ambassa- 
dors, yet  consider  his  dignity  who  sends  us,  and  then  you 
cannot  disregard  his  message  even  from  our  mouth. 

The  apostle,  having  thus  prepared  the  way,  proceeds  to 
the  actual  exercise  of  his  office  as  an  ambassador  for 
Christ :  We  pray  you,  says  he,  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  recon- 
ciled unto  God.  As  if  he  had  said,  "  If  Christ  were  now 
present  in  person  among  you,  this  is  what  he  would  pro- 
pose to  you,  and  urge  upon  you,  that  you  would  be  recon- 
ciled to  God :  but  him  the  heavens  must  receive  till  the 
time  of  the  restitution  of  all  things ;  but  he  has  left  us  his 
poor  servants  to  officiate  in  his  place  as  well  as  we  can, 
and  we  would  prosecute  the  same  design,  we  would  urge 
upon  you  what  he  would  urge,  were  he  to  speak ;  there- 
fore we  pray  you,  in  his  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God : 
we  earnestly  pray  you  to  be  reconciled ;  that  is  the  utmost 
which  such  feeble  worms  as  we  can  do ;  we  can  only  pray 
and  beg,  but  your  compliance  is  not  within  the  command 
of  our  power;  the  compliance  belongs  to  you;  and  re- 
member, if  you  refuse,  you  must  take  it  upon  yourselves, 
and  answer  the  consequence." 

Having  thus  explained  the  text,  I  proceed  in  my  poor 
manner  to  exemplify  it  by  negotiating  the  treaty  with  you 
for  your  reconciliation  to  God ;  and  you  see  my  business 
lies  directly  with  such  of  you  as  are  yet  enemies  to  God : 
you  are  the  only  persons  that  stand  in  need  of  reconcilia- 
tion. As  for  such  of  you  (and  I  doubt  not  but  there  are 
such  among  you)  whose  innate  enmity  has  been  subdued, 


TO    BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD.  143 

and  who  are  become  the  friends  and  subjects  of  the  King 
of  heaven  after  your  guilty  revolt,  I  must  desire  you,  as  it 
were,  to  stand  by  yourselves  for  the  present  hour,  and 
help  me  by  your  prayers,  while  I  am  speaking  to  your 
poor  brethren,  who  still  continue  in  that  state  of  hostility 
and  rebellion  against  God,  in  which  you  once  were,  and 
the  miseries  of  which  you  well  know,  and  still  lament  and 
deplore. 

But  by  this  proposal  I  am  afraid  I  have  deprived  myself 
of  hearers  on  this  subject ;  for  have  you  not  already  placed 
yourselves  among  the  lovers  of  God,  who  consequently  do 
not  need  to  be  reconciled  to  him?  Is  not  every  one  of 
you  ready  to  say  to  me,  "  If  your  business  only  lies  with 
the  enemies  of  God,  you  have  no  concern  with  me  in  this 
discourse ;  for,  God  forbid  that  I  should  be  an  enemy  to 
him.  I  have  indeed  been  guilty  of  a  great  many  sins,  but 
I  had  no  bad  design  in  them,  and  never  had  the  least  en- 
mity against  my  Maker ;  so  far  from  it  that  I  shudder  at 
the  very  thought !"  This  is  the  first  obstacle  that  I  meet 
with  in  discharging  my  embassy ;  the  embassy  itself  is  looked 
upon  as  needless  by  the  persons  concerned,  like  an  attempt 
to  reconcile  those  that  are  good  friends  already.  This  ob- 
stacle must  be  removed  before  we  can  proceed  any  farther. 

I  am  far  from  charging  any  of  you  with  so  horrid  a 
crime  as  enmity  and  rebellion  against  God,  who  can  pro- 
duce satisfactory  evidences  to  your  own  conscience  that 
you  are  his  friends.  I  only  desire  that  you  would  not  flat- 
ter yourselves,  nor  draw  a  rash  and  groundless  conclusion 
in  an  affair  of  such  infinite  moment,  but  that  you  would 
put  the  matter  to  a  fair  trial,  according  to  evidence,  and 
then  let  your  conscience  pass  an  impartial  sentence  as  your 
judge,  under  the  supreme  Judge  of  the  world. 

You  plead  "  not  guilty"  to  the  charge,  and  allege  that 
you  have  always  loved  God ;  but  if  this  be  the  case, 


144  SINNERS    ENTREATED 

whence  is  it  that  you  have  afforded  him  so  few  of  your 
affectionate  and  warm  thoughts  ?  Do  not  your  tenderest 
thoughts  dwell  upon  the  objects  of  your  love  ?  But  has 
not  your  mind  been  shy  of  him  who  gave  you  your  power 
of  thinking?  Have  you  not  lived  stupidly  thoughtless  of 
him  for  days  and  weeks  together  ?  Nay,  have  not  serious 
thoughts  of  him  been  unwelcome,  and  made  you  uneasy? 
and  have  you  not  turned  every  way  to  avoid  them  ?  Have 
you  not  often  prayed  to  him,  and  concurred  in  other  acts 
of  religious  worship,  and  yet  had  but  very  few  or  no  de- 
vout thoughts  of  him,  even  at  the  very  time?  And  is 
that  mind  well  affected  towards  him  that  is  so  averse  to 
him,  and  turns  every  way  to  shun  a  glance  of  him  ?  Alas  ! 
is  this  your  friendship  for  the  God  that  made  you,  whose 
you  are,  and  whom  you  ought  to  serve ! 

Would  you  not  have  indulged  the  fool's  wish,  that  there 
were  no  God,  had  not  the  horror  and  impossibility  of  the 
thing  restrained  you  ?  But,  notwithstanding  this  restraint, 
has  not  this  blasphemy  shed  its  malignant  poison  at  times 
in  your  hearts?  If  there  was  no  God,  then  you  would 
sin  without  control,  and  without  dread  of  punishment; 
and  how  sweet  was  this!  Then  you  would  have  nothing 
to  do  with  that  melancholy  thing,  religion;  and  what  an 
agreeable  exemption  would  this  be  ?  But  is  this  your  love 
for  him,  to  wish  the  Parent  of  all  beings  out  of  being? 
Alas!  can  the  rankest  enmity  rise  higher? 

Again,  if  you  are  reconciled  to  God,  whence  is  it  that 
you  are  secretly,  or  perhaps  openly,  disaffected  to  his  im- 
age, I  mean  the  purity  and  strictness  of  his  law,  and  the 
lineaments  of  holiness  that  appear  upon  the  unfashionable 
religious  few  ?  If  you  loved  God,  you  would  of  course 
love  every  thing  that  bears  any  resemblance  to  him.  But 
are  you  not  conscious  that  it  is  otherwise  with  you;  that 
you  murmur  and  cavil  at  the  restraints  of  God's  law,  and 


TO    BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD.  145 

would  much  rather  abjure  it,  be  free  from  it,  and  live  as 
you  list?  Are  you  not  conscious  that  nothing  exposes  a 
man  more  to  your  secret  disgust  and  contempt,  and  per- 
haps to  your  public  mockery  and  ridicule,  than  a  strict 
and  holy  walk,  and  a  conscientious  observance  of  the 
duties  of  devotion?  And  if  you  catch  your  neighbour  in 
any  of  these  offences,  do  not  your  hearts  rise  against  him? 
and  what  is  this  but  the  effect  of  your  enmity  against 
God  ?  Do  you  thus  disgust  a  man  for  wearing  the  genuine 
image  and  resemblance  of  your  friend  ?  No ;  the  effect 
of  love  is  quite  the  reverse. 

Again,  If  you  do  but  reflect  upon  the  daily  sensations 
of  your  own  minds,  must  you  not  be  conscious  that  you 
love  other  persons  and  things  more  than  God?  that  you 
love  pleasure,  honour,  riches,  your  relations  and  friends, 
more  than  the  glorious  and  ever  blessed  God?  Look 
into  your  own  hearts,  and  you  will  find  it  so;  you  will  find 
that  this,  and  that,  and  a  thousand  things  in  this  world, 
engross  more  of  your  thoughts,  your  cares,  desires,  joys, 
sorrows,  hopes,  and  fears,  than  God,  or  any  of  his  con- 
cerns. Now  it  is  essential  to  the  love  of  God  that  it  be 
supreme.  You  do  not  love  him  truly  at  all,  in  the  least  de- 
gree, if  you  do  not  love  him  above  all;  above  all  persons 
and  things  in  the  whole  universe.  He  is  a  jealous  God, 
and  will  not  suffer  a  rival.  A  lower  degree  of  love  for 
supreme  excellence  is  an  affront  and  indignity.  Is  it  not 
therefore  evident,  even  to  your  own  conviction,  that  you 
do  not  love  God  at  all  ?  and  what  is  this  but  to  be  his 
enemy?  To  be  indifferent  towards  him,  as  though  he 
were  an  insignificant  being,  neither  good  nor  evil,  a  mere 
cipher;  to  feel  neither  love  nor  hatred  towards  him,  but  to 
neglect  him,  as  if  you  had  no  concern  with  him  one  way 
or  other;  what  a. horrible  disposition  is  this  towards  him, 

who  is  supremely  and  infinitely  glorious  and  amiable,  your 
VOL.  I.— 19 


146  SINNERS    ENTREATED 

Creator,  your  Sovereign,  and  Benefactor;  who  therefore 
deserves  and  demands  your  highest  love;  or,  in  the  words 
of  his  own  law,  that  you  should  love  him  with  all  your 
heart,  with  all  your  soul,  with  all  your  mind,  and  with  all 
your  strength.  Mark  xii.  30.  From  what  can  such  in- 
differency  towards  him  proceed  but  from  disaffection  and 
enmity  ?  It  is  in  this  way  that  the  enmity  of  men  towards 
God  most  generally  discovers  itself.  They  feel,  perhaps, 
no  positive  workings  of  hatred  towards  him,  unless  when 
their  innate  corruption,  like  an  exasperated  serpent,  is 
irritated  by  conviction  from  his  law;  but  they  feel  an 
apathy,  a  listlessness,  an  indifferency  towards  him;  and  be- 
cause they  feel  no  more,  they  flatter  themselves  they  are 
far  from  hating  him;  especially  as  they  may  have  very 
honourable  speculative  thoughts  of  him  floating  on  the 
surface  of  their  minds.  But  alas !  this  very  thing,  this  in- 
differency, or  listless  neutrality,  is  the  very  core  of  their 
enmity;  and  if  they  are  thus  indifferent  to  him  now,  while 
enjoying  so  many  blessings  from  his  hand,  and  while  he 
delays  their  punishment,  how  will  their  enmity  swell  and 
rise  to  all  the  rage  of  a  devil  against  him,  when  he  puts 
forth  his  vindictive  hand  and  touches  them,  and  so  gives 
occasion  to  it  to  discover  its  venom?  My  soul  shudders 
to  think  what  horrid  insurrections  and  direct  rebellion  this 
temper  will  produce  when  once  irritated,  and  all  restraints 
are  taken  off;  which  will  be  the  doom  of  sinners  in  the 
eternal  world ;  and  then  they  will  have  no  more  of  the  love 
of  God  in  them  than  the  most  malignant  devil  in  hell ! 
If,  therefore,  you  generally  feel  such  an  indifferency  to- 
wards God,  be  assured  you  are  not  reconciled  to  him,  but 
are  his  enemies  in  your  hearts. 

Again,  All  moral  evil,  or  sin,  is  contrary  to  God;  it  is 
the  only  thing  upon  earth,  or  in  hell,  that  is  most  opposite 
to  his  holy  nature ;  and  the  object  of  his  implacable  and 


TO    BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD.  147 

eternal  indignation.  He  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold 
it  or  endure  it.  It  is  his  hatred  to  sin  that  has  turned  his 
heart  against  any  of  his  creatures,  and  is  the  cause  of  all 
the  vengeance  that  he  has  inflicted  upon  the  guilty  in- 
habitants of  our  world,  or  the  spirits  of  hell.  There  is  no 
object  in  the  whole  compass  of  the  universe  so  odious  to 
you  as  every  sin  is  to  a  pure  and  all-holy  God :  now  it  is 
impossible  you  should  at  once  love  two  things  so  opposite, 
so  eternally  irreconcilable.  As  much  love  as  you  have  for 
any  unlawful  pleasure,  just  so  much  enmity  there  is  in 
your  hearts  towards  God.  Hence,  says  St.  Paul,  you 
were  enemies  in  your  mind,  by  wicked  works.  Col.  i.  21. 
Intimating  that  the  love  and  practice  of  our  wicked  works 
is  a  plain  evidence  of  inward  enmity  of  mind  towards  God. 
The  works  of  the  flesh  are  sinful:  hence,  says  the  same 
apostle,  the  carnal  mind,  or  the  minding  of  the  flesh, 
(fpovy/ua  ??,<;  aapxoz,  Rom.  viii.  7,  is  enmity  against  God; 
it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be: 
so  then  they  that  are  in  the  flesh,  or  under  the  power  of  a 
carnal  mind,  cannot  please  God.  Rom.  viii.  8.  Because, 
what  ever  seeming  acts  of  obedience  they  perform,  and 
whatever  appearances  of  friendship  they  put  on,  they  are 
at  heart  enemies  to  God,  and  therefore  cannot  please  him, 
who  searches  their  heart,  and  sees  the  secret  principle  of 
their  actions.  Hence  also  St.  James  tells  us,  that  whoso- 
ever will  be  a  friend  of  the  world,  is  the  enemy  of  God,  be- 
cause the  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  against  God. 
James  iv.  4.  For  the  world  inflames  m  the  lusts  of  men, 
and  occasions  much  sin;  and  if  we  love  the  tempter,  we 
love  the  sin  to  which  it  would  allure  us;  and  if  we  love 
the  sin,  we  are  the  enemies  of  God;  and  therefore  the 
friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  against  God.  This  then 
is  an  established  maxim,  without  straining  the  matter  too 
far,  that  as  far  as  you  love  any  sin,  so  far  are  you  enemies 


148  SINNERS    ENTREATED 

to  God.  The  love,  as  well  as  the  service  of  such  opposite 
masters,  is  utterly  inconsistent.  Now,  do  not  your  own 
consciences  witness  against  you,  that  you  have  indulged, 
and  still  do  habitually  indulge  the  love  of  some  sin  or 
other?  Whether  it  be  covetousness  or  sensual  pleasure, 
or  ambition,  or  some  angry  passion,  or  whatever  sin  it  be, 
as  far  as  you  love  it,  so  far  you  are  enemies  to  God :  and 
if  you  take  a  view  of  your  temper  and  practice,  must  you 
not  unavoidably  be  convicted  of  this  dreadful  guilt? 
Horrible  as  the  crime  is,  is  it  not  an  undeniable  matter  of 
fact,  that  you  do  really  love  some  sin,  and  consequently 
hate  the  infinitely  amiable  and  ever  blessed  God?  and 
therefore  you  are  the  persons  I  have  to  deal  with,  as  need- 
ing reconciliation  with  God. 

Farther,  take  a  view  of  your  general  manner  of  serving 
God  in  the  duties  of  religion :  your  manner  of  praying, 
meditation,  hearing  the  word  of  God,  and  other  acts  of 
devotion,  and  then  inquire,  Do  you  perform  this  service  as 
the  willing  servants  of  a  master  you  love?  Do  you  not 
enter  upon  such  service  with  reluctance  or  listlessness,  and 
perform  it  with  langour  and  indifferency  as  a  business  to 
which  you  have  no  heart  ?  But  is  this  your  manner  of 
performing  a  labour  of  love  to  a  friend?  Will  your  own 
reason  suffer  you  to  think  you  would  be  so  luke-warm  and 
heartless  in  the  worship  of  God  if  you  sincerely  loved 
him?  No;  love  is  an  active  principle,  a  vigorous  spring 
of  action;  and  if  this  were  the  principle  of  your  religious 
services,  you  would  infuse  more  spirit  and  life  into  them, 
you  would  exert  all  your  powers,  and  be  fervent  in  spirit, 
serving  the  Lord.  Rom.  xii.  11. 

But  when  you  have  performed  offices  of  devotion  with 
some  degree  of  earnestness,  which  no  doubt  you  have 
sometimes  done,  what  was  the  principle  or  spring  of  your 
exertion?  Was  it  the  love  of  God?  or  was  it  purely  the 


TO    BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD.  149 

low  principle  of  self-love?  Why  did  you  pray  with  such 
eager  importunity,  and  attend  upon  the  other  means  of 
grace  with  so  much  seriousness,  but  because  you  appre- 
hended your  dear  selves  were  in  danger,  and  you  were 
not  willing  to  be  miserable  for  ever?  This  servile,  mer- 
cenary kind  of  religious  earnestness  will  not  prove  that 
you  love  God,  but  only  that  you  love  yourselves;  and  this 
you  may  do,  and  yet  have  no  more  true  goodness,  or 
genuine  love  to  God  than  an  infernal  spirit;  for  there  is 
not  a  spirit  in  hell  but  what  loves  himself.  Indeed,  self- 
love  is  so  far  from  being  an  evidence  of  the  love  of  God, 
that  the  extravagant  excess  of  it  is  the  source  of  that 
wickedness  that  abounds  among  men  and  devils.  I  do 
not  mean  by  this  utterly  to  exclude  self-love  out  of  genuine 
religion;  it  must  have  its  place  in  the  most  excellent  and 
best  beings,  but  then  it  must  be  kept  in  a  proper  subordi- 
nation, and  not  advance  the  creature  above  the  Creator, 
and  dethrone  the  supreme  King  of  the  universe.  His 
love  must  be  uppermost  in  the  heart,  and  when  that  has 
the  highest  place,  the  indulgence  of  self-love  in  pursuing 
our  own  happiness  is  lawful,  and  an  important  duty. 
Now,  do  you  not  find  from  this  view  of  the  case,  that 
you  are  not  reconciled  to  God,  even  in  your  most  devout 
and  zealous  hours,  much  less  in  the  languid,  inactive  tenor 
of  your  lives  ?  If  so,  place  yourselves  among  those  that  I 
have  to  do  with  to-day;  that  is,  the  enemies  of  God. 

So  also,  when  you  perform  good  offices  to  mankind; 
when  you  are  harmless,  obliging  neighbours;  when  you 
are  charitable  to  the  poor,  or  strictly  just  in  trade  ;  is  the 
love  of  God,  and  a  regard  to  his  authority,  the  reason  and 
principle  of  your  actions?  That  is,  do  you  do  these 
things  because  God  commands  them,  and  because  you  de- 
light to  do  what  he  commands?  or  rather,  do  you  not  do 
them  merely  because  it  is  your  nature  to  perform  humane 


150  SINNERS    ENTREATED 

and  honourable  actions  in  such  instances;  or  because  you 
may  acquire  honour,  or  some  selfish  advantage  by  them  ? 
Alas !  that  God  should  be  neglected,  forgotten,  and  left  out 
of  the  question,  as  of  no  importance  even  in  those  actions 
that  are  materially  good!  that  even  what  he  commands 
should  be  done,  not  because  he  commands  it,  but  for  some 
other  sordid,  selfish  reason!  Oh!  if  you  did  really  love 
God,  would  you  thus  disregard  him,  and  do  nothing  for 
his  sake,  not  only  when  you  are  doing  what  he  forbids,  but 
even  when  you  are  performing  what  he  has  made  your 
duty!  Would  he  be  such  a  cipher,  a  mere  nothing  in 
your  practical  esteem,  if  your  hearts  were  reconciled  to 
him  as  your  God?  No;  such  of  you  must  look  upon 
yourselves  as  the  very  persons  whom  I  am  to  pray,  in 
Christ's  stead,  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 

I  might  thus,  from  obvious  facts,  lay  before  you  many 
more  evidences  of  your  disaffection  to  the  great  God;  but 
I  must  leave  some  room  for  the  other  part  of  my  address 
to  you,  in  which  I  am  to  persuade  you  to  accept  of  the 
proposal  of  reconciliation;  and  therefore  I  shall  add  only 
one  more  test  of  your  pretended  friendship,  a  test  which 
is  established  by  the  great  Founder  of  our  religion,  as 
infallibly  decisive  in  this  case ;  and  that  is,  obedience,  or 
the  keeping  of  the  commandments  of  God.  This,  I  say, 
is  established  in  the  strongest  terms  by  Jesus  Christ  him- 
self, as  a  decisive  test  of  love,  If  you  love  me,  keep  my 
commandments.  John  xiv.  15.  Ye  are  my  friends,  if  ye 
do  whatsoever  I  command  you.  John  xv.  14.  If  a  man 
love  me,  he  will  keep  my  words.  He  that  loveth  me  not, 
keepeth  not  my  sayings.  John  xiv.  23,  24.  This  is  the 
love  of  God,  says  St.  John,  that  we  keep  his  command- 
ments;  and  his  commandments  are  not  grievous.  1  John 
v.  3.  That  is,  they  are  not  grievous  when  love  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  obedience.  The  service  of  love  is  always  willing 


TO    BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD.  151 

and  pleasing.  Now,  my  brethren  bring  your  hearts  and  lives 
to  this  standard,  and  let  conscience  declare,  Are  there  not 
some  demands  and  restraints  of  the  divine  law  so  disagreable 
to  you,  that  you  labour  to  keep  yourselves  ignorant  of  them, 
and  turn  every  way  to  avoid  the  painful  light  of  convic- 
tion? Are  there  not  several  duties  which  you  know  in 
your  consciences  to  be  such,  which  you  do  not  so  much 
as  honestly  endeavour  to  perform,  but  knowingly  and  wil- 
fully neglect  1  And  are  there  not  some  favourite  sins 
which  your  consciences  tell  you  God  has  forbidden,  which 
yet  are  so  pleasing  to  you,  that  you  knowingly  and  allow- 
edly indulge  and  practise  them  ?  If  this  be  your  case, 
you  need  not  pretend  to  plead  anything  in  your  own 
defence,  or  hesitate  any,  longer ;  the  case  is  plain,  you  are, 
beyond  all  doubt,  enemies  to  God;  you  are  undeniably 
convicted  of  it  this  day  by  irresistible  evidence.  You  per- 
haps glory  in  the  profession  of  Christians,  but  you  are, 
notwithstanding,  enemies  to  God.  You  attend  on  public 
worship,  you  pray,  you  read,  you  communicate,  you  are 
perhaps  a  zealous  churchman  or  dissenter,  but  you  are 
enemies  of  God.  You  have  perhaps  had  many  fits  of  reli- 
gious affection,  and  serious  concern  about  your  everlasting 
happiness,  but  notwithstanding  you  are  enemies  of  God. 
You  may  have  reformed  in  many  things,  but  you  are  still 
enemies  of  God.  Men  may  esteem  you  Christians,  but 
the  God  of  heaven  accounts  you  his  enemies.  In  vain  do 
you  insist  upon  it,  that  you  have  never  hated  your  Maker 
all  your  life,  but  even  tremble  at  the  thought,  for  undenia- 
ble facts  are  against  you;  and  the  reason  why  you  have 
not  seen  your  enmity  was,  because  you  were  blind,  and 
judged  upon  wrong  principles;  but  if  you  this  day  feel 
the  force  of  conviction  from  the  law,  and  have  your  eyes 
opened,  you  will  see  and  be  shocked  at  your  horrid  enmity 
against  God,  before  yonder  sun  sets. 


152  SINNERS    ENTREATED 

And  now,  when  I  have  singled  out  from  the  rest  those 
I  am  now  to  beseech  to  reconciliation  with  God,  have  I 
not  got  the  majority  of  you  to  treat  with  1  Where  are 
the  sincere  lovers  of  God  ?  Alas !  how  few  are  they !  and 
how  imperfect  even  in  their  love,  so  that  they  hardly 
dare  call  themselves  lovers  of  God,  but  tremble  lest  they 
should  still  belong  to  the  wretched  crowd  that  are  still 
unreconciled  to  him ! 

Ye  rebels  against  the  King  of  heaven !  ye  enemies 
against  my  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ!  (I  cannot 
flatter  you  with  a  softer  name)  hear  me ;  attend  to  the 
proposal  I  make  to  you,  not  in  my  own  name,  but  in  the 
name  and  stead  of  your  rightful  Sovereign ;  and  that  is, 
that  you  will  this  day  be  reconciled  to  God.  "  I  pray  you 
in  his  stead  (that  is  all  I  can  do)  be  ye  reconciled  to  God." 
That  you  may  know  what  I  mean,  I  will  more  particu- 
larly explain  this  overture  to  you. 

If  you  would  be  reconciled  to  God  you  must  be  deeply 
sensible  of  the  guilt,  the  wickedness,  the  baseness,  the 
inexpressible  malignity  of  your  enmity  and  rebellion  against 
him.  You  must  return  to  your  rightful  Sovereign  as  con- 
victed, self-condemned,  penitent,  broken-hearted  rebels, 
confounded  and  ashamed  of  your  conduct,  loathing  your- 
selves because  you  have  loathed  the  supreme  Excellence, 
mourning  over  your  unnatural  disaffection,  your  base 
ingratitude,  your  horrid  rebellion  against  so  good  a  King, 
And  what  do  you  say  to  this  article  of  the  treaty  of  peace  ? 
Is  it  a  hard  thing  for  such  causeless  enemies  to  fall  upon 
the  knee,  and  to  mourn  and  weep  as  prostrate  penitents  at 
the  feet  of  their  injured  Maker?  Is  it  a  hard  thing  for  one 
that  has  all  his  life  been  guilty  of  the  blackest  crimes  upon 
earth,  or  even  in  hell,  I  mean  enmity  against  God,  to 
confess  "  I  have  sinned,"  and  to  feel  his  own  confes- 
sion? to  feel  it,  I  say;  for  if  he  does  not  feel  it,  his 


TO    BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD.  153 

confession  is  but  an  empty  compliment,  that  increases  his 
guilt. 

Again,  if  you  would  be  reconciled  to  God,  you  must 
heartily  consent  to  be  reconciled  to  him  in  Christ;  that  is, 
you  must  come  in  upon  the  footing  of  that  act  of  grace 
which  is  published  in  the  gospel  through  Christ,  and  ex- 
pecting no  favour  at  all  upon  the  footing  of  your  own 
goodness.  The  merit  of  what  you  call  your  good  actions, 
of  your  repentance,  your  prayers,  your  acts  of  charity 
and  justice  must  all  pass  for  nothing  in  this  respect:  you 
must  depend  only  and  entirely  upon  the  merit  of  Christ's 
obedience  and  sufferings  as  the  ground  of  your  acceptance 
with  God;  and  hope  for  forgiveness  and  favour  from  his 
mere  mercy  bestowed  upon  you,  only  for  the  sake  of  Christ, 
or  on  account  of  what  he  has  done  and  suffered  in  the  stead 
of  sinners.  The  context  informs  you,  that  it  is  only  in 
Christ  that  God  is  reconciling  the  world  to  himself;  and 
consequently  it  is  only  in  Christ  that  the  world  must  accept 
of  reconciliation  and  pardon.  It  does  not  consist  with  the 
dignity  and  perfections  of  the  King  of  heaven  to  receive 
rebels  into  favour  upon  any  other  footing.  -I  would  have 
you  consent  to  every  article  of  the  overture  as  I  go  along; 
and  therefore  here  again  I  make  a  pause  to  ask  you,  what 
do  you  think  of  this  article  ?  Are  you  willing  to  comply 
with  it,  willing  to  come  into  favour  with  God,  as  convicted 
self-condemned  rebels,  upon  an  act  of  grace  procured  by 
the  righteousness  of  Christ  alone?  Is  it  a  mortification 
to  creatures  that  never  have  done  one  action  truly  good 
in  all  their  lives,  because  they  have  never  loved  God  in 
one  moment  of  their  lives;  creatures  that  have  always, 
even  in  what  they  accounted  their  best  dispositions,  and 
best  actions,  been  hateful  to  God,  because  even  in  their 
best  dispositions,  and  best  actions  they  were  utterly  des- 
titute of  his  love?  Is  it  a  mortification  to  such  creatures 
VOL.  I.— 20 


154  SINNERS    ENTREATED 

to  renounce  all  their  own  merit,  and  consent  to  be  saved 
only  through  grace,  on  account  of  the  righteousness  of 
another,  even  of  Jesus  Christ  the  great  Peacemaker  ?  Can 
it  be  a  mortification  to  you  to  renounce  what  you  have 
not,  and  to  own  yourselves  guilty,  and  utterly  unworthy, 
when  you  are  really  such  ?  Oh !  may  I  not  expect  your 
compliance  with  this  term  of  reconciliation  ? 

Again,  If  you  would  be  reconciled  to  God,  you  must 
engage  yourselves  in  his  service  for  the  future,  and  devote 
yourselves  to  do  his  will.  His  law  must  be  the  rule  of 
your  temper  and  practice :  whatever  he  commands  you 
must  honestly  endeavour  to  perform,  without  exception  of 
any  one  duty  as  disagreeable  and  laborious;  and  -what- 
ever he  forbids,  you  must  for  that  reason,  abstain  from, 
however  pleasing,  advantageous,  or  fashionable.  You 
must  no  longer  look  upon  yourself  as  your  own,  but  as 
bought  with  a  price,  and  therefore  bound  to  glorify  God 
with  your  souls  and  your  bodies,  which  are  his.  And  can 
you  make  any  difficulty  of  complying  with  this  term ;  of 
obeying  Him,  whom  the  happy  angels  in  heaven  obey;  of 
observing  that  law  which  always  unites  your  duty  and 
your  happiness,  and  forbids  nothing  but  what  is  itself  inju- 
rious to  you  in  the  nature  of  things;  of  doing  the  will  of 
the  wisest  and  best  of  beings  rather  than  your  own,  who 
are  ignorant  and  depraved  creatures  ?  Oh !  can  you  make 
any  difficulty  of  this?  If  not,  you  will  return  home  this 
day  reconciled  to  God;  a  happiness  you  have  never  yet 
enjoyed  for  one  moment. 

Finally,  if  you  would  be  reconciled  to  God,  you  must 
break  off  all  friendship  with  his  enemies;  your  friendship 
with  the  world,  I  mean  your  attachment  to  its  wicked 
fashions  and  customs,  and  your  fondness  for  its  rebellious 
inhabitants,  who  continue  enemies  to  God;  your  love  of 
guilty  pleasures,  and  every  form  of  sin,  however  pleasing 


TO    BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD.  155 

or  gainful  you  might  imagine  it  to  be;  your  old  habits  and 
practices,  while  enemies  to  God;  all  these  you  must  break 
oft*  for  ever;  for  your  friendship  with  these  is  utterly 
inconsistent  with  the  love  of  God.  As  long  as  you  are 
resolved  to  love  the  world,  to  keep  up  your  society  with 
your  old  companions  in  sin,  to  retain  your  old  pleasures 
and  evil  practices;  as  long,  I  say,  as  you  are  resolved  upon 
this  course,  farewell  all  hope  of  your  reconciliation  to  God : 
it  is  absolutely  impossible.  And  do  any  of  you  hesitate 
at  this  article?  Is  sin  so  noble  a  thing  in  itself,  and  so 
happy  in  its  consequences,  as  that  you  should  be  so  loth  to 
part  with  it?  Is  it  so  sweet  a  thing  to  you  to  sin  against 
God,'  that  you  know  not  how  to  forbear  ?  Alas !  will  you 
rather  be  an  implacable  enemy  to  the  God  that  made  you, 
than  break  your  league  with  his  enemies  and  your  own ! 
Do  you  love  your  sins  so  well,  and  are  you  so  obliged  to 
them,  that  you  will  lay  down  your  life,  your  eternal  life, 
for  their  sakes. 

I  might  multiply  particulars,  but  these  are  the  principal 
articles  of  that  treaty  of  peace,  I  am  negotiating  with  you ; 
and  a  consent  to  these  includes  a  compliance  with  all  the 
rest.  And  are  you  determined  to  comply?  Does  the 
heaven-born  purpose  now  rise  in  your  minds,  "  I  am  deter- 
mined I  will  be  an  enemy  of  God  no  longer ;  but  this  very 
day  I  will  be  reconciled  to  God  upon  his  own  terms !"  Is 
this  your  fixed  purpose  ?  or  is  there  any  occasion  to  pray 
and  persuade  you? 

I  well  know,  and  it  is  fit  you  should  know,  that  you  are 
not  able  of  yourselves  to  consent  to  these  terms,  but  that 
it  is  the  work  of  the  power  of  God  alone  to  reconcile  you 
to  himself;  and  that  all  my  persuasions  and  entreaties  will 
never  make  you  either  able  or  willing.  You  will  then  ask 
me,  perhaps,  "  Why  do  I  propose  the  terms  to  you,  or 
use  any  persuasives  or  entreaties  with  you?"  I  answer, 


156  SINNERS    ENTREATED 

because  you  never  will  he  sensible  of  your  inability  till 
you  make  an  honest  trial,  and  because  you  never  will  look 
and  pray  for  the  aid  of  the  blessed  Spirit  till  you  are 
deeply  sensible  of  your  own  insufficiency ;  and  further, 
because,  if  the  blessed  Spirit  should  ever  effectually  work 
upon  you,  it  will  be  by  enlightening  your  understandings 
to  see  the  reasonableness  of  the  terms,  and  the  force  of 
the  persuasives;  aud  in  this  way,  agreeably  to  your  rea- 
sonable natures,  sweetly  constraining  your  obstinate  wills 
to  yield  yourselves  to  God;  therefore  the  terms  must  be 
proposed  to  you,  and  persuasives  used,  if  I  would  be  sub- 
servient to  this  divine  agent,  and  furnish  him  with  mate- 
rials with  which  to  work ;  and  I  have  some  little  hop6  that 
he  will,  as  it  were,  catch  my  feeble  words  from  my  lips 
before  they  vanish  into  air,  and  bear  them  home  to  your 
hearts  with  a  power  which  you  will  not  be  able  to  resist. 
Finally,  a  conviction  of  the  true  state  of  your  case  may 
constrain  you  from  self-love  and  the  low  principles  of  na- 
ture to  use  the  means  of  reconciliation  with  zeal  and  earn- 
estness ;  this  you  are  capable  of,  even  with  the  mere 
strength  of  degenerate  nature ;  and  it  is  only  in  this  way 
of  earnest  endeavours  that  you  have  any  encouragement 
to  hope  for  divine  aid;  therefore,  notwithstanding  your 
utter  impotence,  I  must  pray,  entreat,  and  persuade  you 
to  be  reconciled  to  God. 

I  pray  you,  in  the  name  of  the  great  God  your  hea- 
venly Father,  and  of  Jesus  Christ  your  Redeemer.  If 
God  should  once  more  renew  the  thunder  and  lightning, 
and  darkness  and  tempest  of  Sinai,  and  speak  to  you  as 
he  once  did  to  the  trembling  Israelites;  or  if  he  should 
appear  to  you  in  all  the  amiable  and  alluring  glories  of  a 
sin-pardoning  reconcilable  God,  and  pray  you  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  him,  would  you  not  then  regard  the  proposal  ?  or  if 
Jesus,  who  once  prayed  for  you  from  the  cross,  should  now 


TO    BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD.  157 

pray  to  you  from  his  throne  in  heaven,  and  beg  you  with 
his  own  gracious  voice  to  be  reconciled,  oh !  could  you 
disregard  the  entreaty?  Surely  no.  Now  the  overture 
of  peace  is  as  really  made  to  you  by  the  blessed  God  and 
his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  as  if  it  were  expressly  proposed  to 
you  by  an  immediate  voice  from  heaven.  For  I  beseech 
you,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  me,  and  it  is  in 
Christ's  stead,  that  I  pray  you  be  reconciled  to  God. 
Therefore,  however  lightly  you  may  make  of  a  mere  propo- 
sal of  mine,  can  you  disregard  an  overture  from  the  God 
that  made  you,  and  the  Saviour  that  bought  you  with  his 
blood !  in  which  I  am  but  the  faint  echo  of  their  voice 
from  heaven. 

In  the  name  of  God  I  pray  you;  the  name  of  the 
greatest  and  best  of  beings ;  that  name  which  angels  love 
and  adore,  and  which  strikes  terror  through  the  hardiest 
devil  in  the  infernal  regions ;  the  name  of  your  Father ; 
the  immediate  Father  of  your  spirits,  and  the  Author  of 
your  mortal  frames;  the  name  of  your  Preserver  and 
Benefactor,  in  whom  you  live,  and  move,  and  have  your  be- 
ing ;  and  who  gives  you  life,  and  breath,  and  all  things ;  the 
name  of  your  rightful  Sovereign  and  Lawgiver,  who  has 
a  right  to  demand  your  love  and  obedience ;  the  name  of 
your  supreme  Judge,  who  will  ascend  the  tribunal,  and 
acquit  or  condemn  you>  as  he  finds  you  friends  or  foes ; 
the  name  of  that  God,  rich  in  goodness,  who  has  replen- 
ished heaven  with  an  infinite  plenitude  of  happiness  in 
which  he  will  allow  you  to  share  alter  all  your  hostility 
and  rebellion,  if  you  consent  to  overtures  of  reconcilia- 
tion ;  in  the  name  of  that  God  of  terrible  majesty  and  jus- 
tice, who  has  prepared  the  dungeon  of  hell  as  a  prison  for 
his  enemies,  where  he  holds  in  chains  the  mighty  powers 
of  darkness,  and  thousands  of  your  own  race,  who  per- 
sisted in  that  enmity  to  him  of  which  you  are  now  guilty, 


158  SINNERS    ENTREATED 

and  with  whom  you  must  have  your  everlasting  portion, 
if,  like  them,  you  continue  hardened  and  incorrigible  in 
your  rebellion ;  in  the  name  of  that  compassionate  God, 
who  sent  his  dear  Son  (oh  the  transporting  thought !)  to 
satisfy  divine  justice  for  you  by  his  death,  and  the  precepts 
of  the  law  by  his  life,  and  thus  to  remove  all  obstructions 
out  of  the  way  of  your  reconciliation  on  the  part  of  God  ; 
in  this  great,  this  endearing  and  tremendous  name,  I  pray 
you  be  reconciled  to  God.  I  pray  you  for  his  sake ;  and 
has  his  name  no  weight  with  you?  Will  you  do  nothing 
for  his  sake?  what,  not  so  reasonable  and  advantageous  a 
thing  as  dropping  your  unnatural  rebellion,  and  being  re- 
conciled to  him?  Is  your  contempt  of  God  risen  to  that 
pitch  that  you  will  not  do  the  most  reasonable  and  profit- 
able thing  in  the  world,  if  he  entreat  you  to  do  it?  Be 
astonished,  O  ye  heavens !  at  this. 

I  pray  you  both  in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  true  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners,  in  his  name 
and  for  his  sake,  who  assumed  your  degraded  nature,  that 
he  might  dignify  and  save  it;  who  lived  a  life  of  labour, 
poverty,  and  persecution  on  earth,  that  you  might  enjoy  a 
life  of  everlasting  happiness  and  glory  in  heaven;  who 
died  upon  a  torturing  cross,  that  you  might  sit  upon  hea- 
venly thrones ;  who  was  imprisoned  in  the  gloomy  grave, 
that  you  might  enjoy  a  glorious  resurrection ;  who  fell  a 
victim  to  divine  justice,  that  you  might  be  set  free  from  its 
dreadful  arrest;  who  felt  trouble  and  agony  of  soul,  that 
you  might  enjoy  the  smiles,  the  pleasures  of  divine  love ; 
who,  in  short,  has  discovered  more  ardent  and  extensive 
love  for  you  than  all  the  friends  in  the  world  can  do :  in 
his  name,  and  for  his  sake,  I  pray  you  to  be  reconciled  to 
God.  And  is  his  dear  name  a  trifle  in  your  esteem? 
Will  you  not  do  any  thing  so  reasonable  and  so  necessary, 
and  conducive  to  your  happiness  for  his  sake ;  for  his  sake 


TO    BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD.  159 

who  has  done  and  suffered  so  much  for  you  ?  Alas !  has 
the  name  of  Jesus  no  more  influence  among  the  creatures 
he  bought  with  his  blood !  It  is  hard,  indeed,  if  I  beg  in 
vain,  when  I  beg  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  the  Friend,  the 
Saviour  of  perishing  souls. 

But  if  you  have  no  regard  for  him,  you  certainly  have 
for  yourselves ;  therefore,  for  your  own  sakes,  for  the  sake 
of  your  precious  immortals  souls,  for  the  sake  of  your 
own  everlasting  happiness,  I  pray  you  to  be  reconciled  to 
God.  If  you  refuse,  you  degrade  the  honour  of  your 
nature,  and  commence  incarnate  devils.  For  what  is  the 
grand  constituent  of  a  devil,  but  enmity  against  God  ?  You 
become  the  refuse  of  the  creation,  fit  for  no  apartment  of 
the  universe  but  the  prison  of  hell.  While  you  are  un- 
reconciled to  God  you  can  do  nothing  at  all  to  please  him. 
He  that  searches  the  heart  knows  that  even  your  good 
actions  do  not  proceed  from  love  to  him  and  therefore  he 
abhors  them.  Ten  thousand  prayers  and  acts  of  devotion 
and  morality,  as  you  have  no  principles  of  real  holiness, 
are  so  many  provocations  to  a  righteous  God.  While  you 
refuse  to  be  reconciled,  you  are  accessary  to,  and  patronize 
all  the  rebellion  of  men  and  devils ;  for  if  you  have  a  right 
to  continue  in  your  rebellion,  why  may  not  others?  why 
may  not  every  man  upon  earth  ?  why  may  not  every  mise- 
rable ghost  in  the  infernal  regions?  And  are  you  for 
raising  a  universal  mutiny  and  rebellion  against  the  throne 
of  the  Most  High !  Oh  the  inexpressible  horror  of  the 
thought !  If  you  refuse  to  be  reconciled,  you  will  soon 
weary  out  the  mercy  and  patience  of  God  towards  you, 
and  he  will  come  forth  against  you  in  all  the  terrors  of  an 
almighty  enemy.  He  will  give  death  a  commission  to 
seize  you,  and  drag  you  to  his  flaming  tribunal.  He  will 
break  off  the  treaty,  and  never  make  you  one  offer  of  re- 
conciliation more :  he  will  strip  you  of  all  the  enjoyments 


160  SINNERS    ENTREATED 

he  was  pleased  to  lend  you,  while  you  were  under  a  re- 
prieve, and  the  treaty  was  not  come  to  a  final  issue ;  and 
will  leave  you  nothing  but  bare  being,  and  an  extensive 
capacity  of  misery,  which  will  be  filled  up  to  the  uttermost 
from  the  vials  of  his  indignation.  He  will  treat  you  as  his 
implacable  enemy,  and  you  shall  be  to  him  as  Amalek, 
Exod.  xvii.  16,  with  whom  he  will  make  war  for  ever  and 
ever.  He  will  reprove  you,  and  set  your  sins  in  order  be- 
fore you,  and  tear  you  in  pieces,  and  there  shall  be  none  to 
deliver.  He  will  meet  you  as  a  lion,  "  and  as  a  bear  be- 
reaved of  her  whelps,  and  will  rend  the  caul  of  your  hearts." 
Hos.  xiii.  8.  He  hath  for  a  long  time  held  his  peace,  and 
endured  your  rebellion ;  but  ere  long  he  will  go  forth  as  a 
mighty  man :  he  shall  stir  up  jealousy  like  a  man  of  war ; 
he  shall  cry,  yea,  roar ;  he  shall  prevail  against  his  enemies. 
Ah !  he  will  ease  him  of  his  adversaries,  and  avenge  him 
of  his  enemies.  He  will  give  orders  to  the  executioners 
of  his  justice :  Those  mine  enemies,  that  would  not  that  1 
should  reign  over  them,  bring  them  hither,  and  slay  them 
before  me.  Luke  xix.  27.  And  now,  if  you  will  not  sub- 
mit to  peace,  prepare  to  meet  your  God,  oh  sinners !  gird 
up  your  loins  like  men ;  put  on  all  the  terror  of  your  rage, 
and  go  forth  to  meet  your  almighty  adversary,  who  will 
soon  meet  you  in  the  field,  and  try  your  strength.  Call 
the  legions  of  hell  to  your  aid,  and  strengthen  the  con- 
federacy with  all  your  fellow-sinners  upon  earth;  put 
briers  and  thorns  around  you  to  enclose  from  his  reach. 
Prepare  the  dry  stubble  to  oppose  devouring  flame. 
Associate  yourselves,  but  ye  shall  be  broken  in  pieces: 
gird  yourselves ;  but  alas !  ye  shall  be  broken  to 
pieces. 

But  oh !  I  must  drop  this  ironical  challenge,  and  seri- 
ously pray  you  to  make  peace  with  him  whom  you  can- 
not resist :  then  all  your  past  rebellion  will  be  forgiven ; 


TO   BE    RECONCILED    TO    GOD.  161 

you  shall  be  the  favourites  of  your  sovereign,  and  happy 
for  ever;  and  earth  and  heaven  will  rejoice  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  this  blessed  peace ;  and  my  now  sad  heart  will 
share  in  the  joy.  Therefore,  for  your  own  sakes  I  pray 
you  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 

VOL.  I.— 21 


162  THE    NATURE    AND    UNIVERSALITY 


SERMON  IV. 

THE    NATURE   AND    UNIVERSALITY    OF    SPIRITUAL    DEATH. 

EPHES.  ii.  1  and  5. — Who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins. — Even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins. 

THERE  is  a  kind  of  death  which  we  all  expect  to  feel, 
that  carries  terror  in  the  very  sound,  and  all  its  circum- 
stances are  shocking  to  nature.  The  ghastly  counte- 
nance, the  convulsive  agonies,  the  expiring  groan,  the 
coffin,  the  grave,  the  devouring  worm,  the  stupor,  the  in- 
sensibility, the  universal  inactivity,  these  strike  a  damp  to 
the  spirit,  and  we  turn  pale  at  the  thought.  With  such 
objects  as  these  in  view,  courage  fails,  levity  looks  serious, 
presumption  is  dashed,  the  cheerful  passions  sink,  and  all 
is  solemn,  all  is  melancholy.  The  most  stupid  and  hardy 
sinner  cannot  but  be  moved  to  see  these  things  exemplified 
in  others ;  and  when  he  cannot  avoid  the  prospect,  he  is 
shocked  to  think  that  he  himself  must  feel  them. 

But 'there  is  another  kind  of  death  little  regarded  in 
deed,  little  feared,  little  lamented,  which  is  infinitely  more 
terrible — the  death,  not  of  the  body,  but  of  the  soul ;  a 
death  which  does  not  stupify  the  limbs,  but  the  faculties 
of  the  mind ;  a  death  which  does  not  separate  the  soul 
and  body,  and  consign  the  latter  to  the  grave,  but  that 
separates  the  soul  from  God,  excludes  it  from  all  the  joys 
of  his  presence,  and  delivers  it  over  to  everlasting  misery; 
a  tremendous  death  indeed!  "A  death  unto  death." 
The  expression  of  St.  Paul  is  prodigiously  strong  and 
striking :  Bavd-rot;  etc  ddvarov.  Death  unto  death,  death 


OF    SPIRITUAL    DEATH.  163 

after  death,  in  all  dreadful  succession,  and  the  last  more 
terrible  than  the  first,  2  Cor.  ii.  16,  and  this  is  the  death 
meant  in  my  text,  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins. 

To  explain  the  context  and  show  you  the  connection  I 
shall  make  two  short  remarks. 

The  one  is,  That  the  apostle  had  observed  in  the  nine- 
teenth and  twentieth  verses  of  the  foregoing  chapter  that 
the  same  almighty  power  of  God,  which  raised  Christ 
from  the  dead,  is  exerted  to  enable  a  sinner  to  believe. — 
We  believe,  says  he,  according  to  the  working  or  energy 
EvefifKav  of  his  mighty  power  which  he  wrought  in  Christ, 
when  he  raised  him  from  the  dead.  The  one,  as  well  as 
the  other,  is  an  exploit  of  omnipotence.  The  exceeding 
greatness  of  his  mighty  power  is  exerted  towards  us  that 
believe,  as  well  as  it  was  upon  the  dead  body  of  Christ  to 
restore  it  to  life,  after  it  had  been  torn  and  mangled  upon 
the  cross,  and  lain  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the 
grave.  What  strong  language  is  this  !  what  a  forcible  il- 
lustration !  Methinks  this  passage  alone  is  sufficient  to 
confound  all  the  vanity  and  self-sufficiency  of  mortals,  and 
entirely  destroy  the  proud  fiction  of  a  self-sprung  faith 
produced  by  the  efforts  of  degenerate  nature.  In  my  text 
the  apostle  assigns  the  reason  of  this.  The  same  exertion 
of  the  same  power  is  necessary  in  the  one  case  and  the 
other;  because,  as  the  body  of  Christ  was  dead,  and  had 
no  principle  of  life  in  it,  so  says  he,  ye  were  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins ;  and  therefore  could  no  more  quicken 
yourselves  than  a  dead  body  can  restore  itself  to  life. 
But  God,  verse  4th,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  his  great 
love  wherewith  he  loved  us  ;  that  God,  who  raised  the  en- 
tombed Redeemer  to  life  again,  that  same  almighty  God, 
by  a  like  exertion  of  the  same  power,  hath  quickened  us, 
verse  5th.  even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins ;  dead,  sense- 
less, inactive,  and  incapable  of  animating  ourselves.  Let 


164  THE    NATURE    AND    UNIVERSALITY 

any  man  carefully  read  these  verses,  and  consider  their 
most  natural  meaning,  and  I  cannot  but  think  common 
sense  will  direct  him  thus  to  understand  them.  The  Scrip- 
tures were  written  with  a  design  to  be  understood;  and 
therefore  that  sense  which  is  most  natural  to  a  plain  un- 
prejudiced understanding  is  most  likely  to  be  true. 

The  other  remark  is,  That  the  apostle  having  pro- 
nounced the  Ephesians  dead  in  sin,  while  unconverted,  in 
the  first  verse,  passes  the  same  sentence  upon  himself  and 
the  whole  body  of  the  Jews,  notwithstanding  their  high 
privileges,  in  the  fifth  verse.  The  sense  and  connection 
may  be  discovered  in  the  following  paraphrase :  "  You 
Ephesians  were  very  lately  heathens,  and,  while  you  were 
in  that  state,  you  were  spiritually  dead,  and  all  your  ac- 
tions were  dead  works.  In  time  past  ye  walked  in  tres- 
passes and  sins,  nor  were  you  singular  in  your  course ; 
though  it  be  infinitely  pernicious,  yet  it  is  the  common 
course  of  this  world,  and  it  is  also  agreeable  to  the  temper 
and  instigation  of  that  gloomy  prince,  who  has  a  peculiar 
power  in  the  region  of  the  air;  that  malignant  spirit  who 
works  with  dreadful  efficacy  in  the  numerous  children  of 
disobedience ;  but  this  was  not  the  case  of  you  heathens 
alone :  we  also  who  are  Jews,  notwithstanding  our  many 
religious  advantages,  and  even  I  myself,  notwithstanding 
my  high  privileges  and  unblemishable  life  as  a  Pharisee, 
we  also,  I  say,  had  our  conversation  in  times  past  among 
the  children  of  disobedience;  we  all,  as  well  as  they, 
walked  in  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  fulfilling  the  desires  and 
inclinations  (#e^ar«)  of  our  sensual  flesh,  and  of  our 
depraved  minds;  for  these  were  tainted  with  spiritual 
wickedness,  independent  upon  our  animal  passions  and  ap- 
petites ;  and  we  are  all,  even  by  nature,  children  of  wrath 
even  as  others  ;  in  this  respect  we  Jews  were  just  like  the 
rest  of  mankind,  corrupt  from  our  very  birth,  transgress- 


OF    SPIRITUAL    DEATH.  165 

ors  from  the  womb,  and  liable  to  the  wrath  of  God.  Our 
external  relation  and  privileges  as  the  peculiar  people  of 
God,  distinguished  with  a  religion  from  heaven,  make  no 
distinction  between  us  and  others  in  this  matter.  As  we 
are  all  children  of  disobedience  by  our  lives,  so  we  are  all, 
without  exception,  children  of  wrath  by  nature;  but  when 
we  were  all  dead  in  sins,  when  Jews  and  Gentiles  were 
equally  dead  to  God,  then,  even  then,  God  who  is  rich  in 
mercy,  had  pity  upon  us ;  he  quickened  us ;  "  he  inspired 
us  with  a  new  and  spiritual  life  by  his  own  almighty  power, 
which  raised  the  dead  body  of  Christ  from  the  grave." 
He  quickened  us  together  with  Christ :  "We  received  our 
life  by  virtue  of  our  union  with  him  as  our  vital  head,  who 
was  raised  to  an  immortal  life,  that  he  might  quicken 
dead  souls  by  those  influences  of  his  spirit  which  he 
purchased  by  his  death ;  and  therefore  by  grace  are  ye 
saved."  It  is  the  purest,  richest,  freest  grace,  that  such 
dead  souls  as  we  were  made  alive  to  God,  and  not  suffered 
to  remain  dead  for  ever. 

This  is  the  obvious  meaning  and  connection  of  these 
verses;  and  we  now  proceed  to  consider  the  text,  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins ;  you  dead,  we  dead,  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles all  dead  together  in  trespasses  and  sins.  A  dismal, 
mortifying  character !  "  This  one  place,"  says  Ueza, 
"  like  a  thunder-bolt,  dashes  all  mankind  down  to  the  dust, 
great  and  proud  as  they  are ;  for  it  pronounces  their  na- 
ture not  only  hurt  but  dead  by  sin,  and  therefore  liable  to 
wrath.* 

Death  is  a  state  of  insensibility  and  inactivity,  and  a 
dead  man  is  incapable  of  restoring  himself  to  ri%;  there- 
fore the  condition  of  an  unconverted  sinner  must  have 

*  "Hoc  uno  loco,  quasi  fulmine,  totus  homo,  quantus  quantus  est  proster- 
nitur.  Neque  enim  naturam,  dicit  laesam,  sed  mortuam,  per  peccatum  ; 
ideoque  irae  obnoxiam." 


166  THE    NATURE    AND    UNIVERSALITY 

some  resemblance  to  such  a  state,  in  order  to  support  the 
bold  metaphor  here  used  by  the  apostle.  To  understand 
it  aright  we  must  take  care,  on  the  one  hand,  that  we  do 
not  explain  it  away  in  flattery  to  ourselves,  or  in  compli- 
ment to  the  pride  of  human  nature;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  we  do  not  carry  the  similitude  too  far,  so  as  to 
lead  into  absurdities,  and  contradict  matter  of  fact. 

The  metaphor  must  be  understood  with  several  limita- 
tions or  exceptions;  for  it  is  certain  there  is  a  wide  differ- 
ence between  the  spiritual  death  of  the  soul,  and  the 
natural  death  of  the  body,  particularly  in  this  respect,  that 
death  puts  an  entire  end  to  all  the  powers,  actions,  and 
sensations  of  our  animal  nature  universally,  with  regard  to 
all  objects  of  every  kind:  but  a  soul  dead  in  sin  is  one 
partially  dead;  that  is,  it  is  dead  only  with  regard  to  a 
certain  kind  of  sensations  and  exercises,  but  in  the  mean 
time  it  may  be  all  life  and  activity  about  other  things. 
It  is  alive,  sensible,  and  vigorous  about  earthly  objects 
and  pursuits;  these  raise  its  passions  and  engage  its 
thoughts.  It  has  also  a  dreadful  power  and  faculty  of 
sinning,  this  is  not  its  life  but  its  disease,  its  death,  like  the 
tendency  of  a  dead  body  to  corruption.  It  can  likewise 
exercise  its  intellectual  powers,  and  make  considerable 
improvements  in  science.  A  sinner  dead  in  trespasses 
and  sins  may  be  a  living  treasury  of  knowledge,  an  uni- 
versal scholar,  a  profound  philosopher,  and  even  a  great 
divine,  as  far  as  mere  speculative  knowledge  can  render 
him  such;  nay,  he  is  capable  of  many  sensations  and  im- 
pressions from  religious  objects,  and  of  performing  all  the 
external  duties  of  religion.  He  is  able  to  read,  to  hear, 
to  pray,  to  meditate  upon  divine  things;  nay,  he  may  be 
an  instructor  of  others,  and  preach  perhaps  with  extensive 
popularity;  he  may  have  a  form  of  godliness,  and  obtain 
i  name  to  live  among  men;  he  is  in  some  measure  able, 


OF    SPIRITUAL    DEATH. 

and  it  is  his  duty  to  attend  upon  the  means  God  has  in- 
stituted for  quickening  him  with  spiritual  life,  and  God 
deals  with  him  as  with  a  rational  creature,  by  laws,  sanc- 
tions, promises,  expostulations,  and  invitations:  these  con- 
cessions I  make  not  only  to  give  you  the  sense  of  the 
text,  but  also  to  prevent  the  abuse  of  the  doctrine,  and 
anticipate  some  objections  against  it,  as  though  it  were  an 
encouragement  to  continue  idle,  and  use  no  means  to  ob- 
tain spiritual  life:  or  as  though  it  rendered  all  the  means 
of  grace  needless  and  absurd,  like  arguments  to  the  dead, 
to  restore  themselves  to  life.  But,  notwithstanding  all 
these  concessions,  it  is  a  melancholy  truth  that  an  unre- 
generate  sinner  is  dead.  Though  he  can  commit  sin  with 
greediness,  though  he  is  capable  of  animal  actions  and 
secular  pursuits,  nay,  though  he  can  employ  his  mind  even 
about  intellectual  and  spiritual  things,  and  is  capable  of 
performing  the  external  duties  of  religion,  yet  there  is 
something  in  religion  with  regard  to  which  he  is  entirely 
dead :  there  is  a  kind  of  spiritual  life  of  which  he  is  en- 
tirely destitute :  he  is  habitually  insensible  with  regard  to 
things  divine  and  eternal:  he  has  no  activity,  no  vigour  in 
the  pure,  spiritual  and  vital  exercises  of  religion:  he  has 
no  prevailing  bent  of  mind  towards  them :  he  has  not  those 
views  and  apprehensions  of  things  which  a  soul  spiritually 
alive  would  necessarily  receive  and  entertain:  he  is  desti- 
tute of  those  sacred  affections,  that  joy,  that  love,  that  de- 
sire, that  hope,  that  fear,  that  sorrow,  which  are,  as  it 
were,  the  innate  passions  of  the  new  man.  In  short,  he 
is  so  inactive,  so  listless,  so  insensible  in  these  respects, 
that  death,  which  puts  an  end  to  all  action  and  sensation, 
is  a  proper  emblem  of  his  state;  and  this  is  the  meaning 
of  the  apostle  in  my  text.  He  is  also  utterly  unable  to 
quicken  himself.  He  may  indeed  use  means  in  some  sort ; 
but  to  implant  a  vital  principle  in  his  soul,  but  to  give 


THE    NATURE    AND    UNIVERSALITY 

himself  vivid  sensations  of  divine  things,  and  make  himself 
alive  towards  God,  this  is  entirely  beyond  his  utmost 
ability;  this  is  as  peculiarly  the  work  of  almighty  power 
as  the  resurrection  of  a  dead  body  from  the  grave.  As  to 
this  death  it  is  brought  upon  him  by,  and  consists  in, 
trespasses  and  sins.  The  innate  depravity  and  corruption 
of  the  heart,  and  the  habits  of  sin  contracted  and  confirmed 
by  repeated  indulgences  of  inbred  corruption,  these  are 
the  poisonous,  deadly  things  that  have  slain  the  soul;  these 
have  entirely  indisposed  and  disabled  it  for  living  religion. 
Trespasses  and  sins  are  the  grave,  the  corrupt  effluvia,  the 
malignant  damps,  the  rottenness  of  a  dead  soul:  it  lies 
dead,  senseless,  inactive,  buried  in  trespasses  and  sins. 
Trespasses  and  sins  render  it  ghastly,  odious,  abominable, 
a  noisome  putrefaction  before  a  holy  God,  like  a  rotten 
carcass,  or  a  mere  mass  of  corruption ;  the  vilest  lusts,  like 
worms,  riot  upon  and  devour  it,  but  it  feels  them  not,  nor 
can  it  lift  a  hand  to  drive  the  venom  off.  Such  mortify- 
ing ideas  as  these  may  be  contained  in  the  striking  meta- 
phor, dead  in  trespasses  and  sins ;  and  I  hope  you  now 
understand  its  general  meaning. 

If  you  would  know  what  has  turned  my  thoughts  to 
this  subject,  I  will  candidly  tell  you,  though  with  a  sor- 
rowful heart.  I  am  sure,  if  any  objects  within  the  com- 
pass of  human  knowledge  have  a  tendency  to  make  the 
deepest  impressions  upon  our  minds,  they  are  those  things 
which  Christianity  teaches  us  concerning  God,  concerning 
ourselves,  and  a  future  state;  and  if  there  be  any  exercises 
which  should  call  forth  all  the  life  and  powers  of  our  souls 
into  action,  they  are  those  of  a  religious  nature :  but  alas ! 
I  often  find  a  strange,  astonishing  stupour  and  listlessness 
about  these  things.  In  this  I  am  not  singular;  the  best 
among  us  complain  of  the  same  thing;  the  most  lively 
Christians  feel  this  unaccountable  languor  and  insensi- 


OF    SPIRITUAL    DEATH.  169 

bility;    and  the  generality  are  evidently  destitute  of  all 
habitual  concern  about  them:  they  are  all  alive  in  the 
pursuit  of  pleasure,  riches,  or  honours ;  their  thoughts  are 
easily  engaged,  and  their  affections  raised  by  such  things 
as  these:  but  the  concerns  of  religion,  which  above  all 
other  things  are  adapted  to  make  impressions  upon  them, 
and  stir  up  all  the  life  within  them,  seem  to  have  little  or 
no  effect.     When  I  have  made  this  observation  with  re- 
spect to  others,  and  felt  the  melancholy  confirmation  of  it 
in  my  own  breast,  I  have  really  been  struck  with  amaze- 
ment, and  ready  to  cry  out,  "Lord,  what  is  this  that  has 
befallen  me,  and  the  rest  of  my  fellow-mortals  ?  what  can 
be  the  cause  of  such  conduct  in  rational  nature,  to  be 
active  and  eager  about  trifles,  and  stupid  and  careless  about 
matters  of  infinite  importance?     Oh,  whence  is  this  strange 
infatuation!"      Thus   I  have   been  shocked   at   this  as- 
tonishing fact,  and  I  could  account  for  it  in  no  other  way 
but  by  reflecting  that  we  have  all  been  dead  in  trespasses 
and  sins.     In  such  a  solemn  hour  the  apostle's  expression 
does  not  seem  at  all  too  strong.     I  have  no  scruple  at  all 
to  pronounce,  not  only  from  the  authority  of  an  apostle, 
but  from  the  evidence  of  the  thing,  that  I,  and  all  around 
me,  yea,  and  all  the  sons  of  men,  have  been  dead ;  in  the 
spirtual  sense,  utterly  dead.     Multitudes  among  us,  yea, 
the  generality  are  dead  still ;  hence  the  stillness  about  re- 
ligion among  us ;  hence  the  stupor,  the  carelessness  about 
eternal  things,  the  thoughtless  neglect  of  God,  the  insensi- 
bility under  his  providential  dispensations,  the  impenitence, 
the  presumption  that  so  much  prevail.     God  has  indeed, 
out  of  the  great  love  wherewith  he  loved  us,  quickened 
some  of  us,  even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins;  and  we  have 
a  little  life,  some  vital  sensations  and  impressions  at  times, 
but  oh!  how  little,  how  superficial,  how  much  of  a  deadly 
stupor   yet   remains !  how  little  life  in  prayer,  in  hearing, 

VOL.  I.— 22 


170  THE   NATURE    AND    UNIVERSALITY 

or  in  the  nearest  approach  to  the  living  God!  The  re- 
flection is  shocking,  but  alas!  it  is  too  true;  consult  your 
own  hearts  and  you  will  find  it  even  so.  Animal  life 
seems  to  be  a  gradual  thing;  it  gradually  grows  in  an  in- 
fant, it  is  perfect  in  mature  age,  and  in  old  age  it  gradually 
decays  till  all  is  gone;  but  how  small  is  the  degree  of  life 
when  the  foetus  is  just  animated,  or  the  infant  born  into 
the  world!  but  little  superior  to  that  of  a  plant  or  an 
oyster.  What  faint  sensations,  what  obscure  and  languid 
perceptions,  what  feeble  motions  !  Such  are  the  children 
of  grace  in  the  present  state.  Spiritual  life  is  gradual;  it 
is  infused  in  regeneration;  but  oh!  how  far  from  perfection 
while  on  this  side  heaven !  Alas !  the  best  of  us  are  like 
the  poor  traveller  that  fell  among  thieves,  and  was  left 
half  dead;  however,  it  is  an  unspeakable  mercy  to  have 
the  least  principle  of  spiritual  life;  and  we  should  prize  it 
more  than  crowns  and  empires. 

If  you  would  know  my  design  in  choosing  this  subject, 
it  is  partly  for  the  conviction  of  sinners,  that  they  may  be 
alarmed  with  their  deplorable  condition,  which  is  the  first 
step  towards  their  being  quickened;  partly  to  rouse  the 
children  of  grace  to  seek  more  life  from  their  vital  head; 
and  partly  to  display  the  rich  grace  of  God  in  quickening 
such  dead  sinners,  and  bestowing  upon  them  a  spiritual 
and  immortal  life;  and  surely  nothing  can  inflame  our 
gratitude  and  raise  our  wonder  more  than  the  considera- 
tion that  we  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins!  If  I  may 
but  answer  these  ends,  it  will  be  an  unspeakable  blessing 
to  us  all.  And  oh,  that  divine  grace  may  honour  this 
humble  attempt  of  a  poor  creature,  at  best  but  half  alive, 
with  success !  I  hope,  my  brethren,  you  will  hear  seriously 
for  it  is  really  a  most  serious  subject. 

You  have  seen  that  the  metaphorical  expression  in  my 
text  is  intended  to  represent  the  stupidity,  inactivity,  and 


OF    SPIRITUAL    DEATH.  171 

impotence  of  unregenerate  sinners  about  divine  things. 
This  truth  I  might  confirm  by  argument  and  Scripture 
authority;  but  I  think  it  may  be  a  better  method  for  pop- 
ular conviction  to  prove  and  illu'strate  it  from  plain  in- 
stances of  the  temper  and  conduct  of  sinners  about  the 
concerns  of  religion,  as  this  may  force  the  conviction  upon 
them  from  undoubted  matters  of  fact  and  their  own  ex- 
perience. 

This,  therefore,  is  the  method  I  intend  to  pursue;  and 
my  time  will  allow  me  to  particularize  only  the  following 
instances. 

I.  Consider  the  excellency  of  the  divine  Being,  the  sum 
total,  the  great  original  of  all  perfections.  How  infinitely 
worthy  is  he  of  the  adoration  of  all  his  creatures !  how 
deserving  of  their  most  intense  thoughts  and  most  ardent 
affections !  If  majesty  and  glory  can  strike  us  with  awe 
and  veneration,  does  not  Jehovah  demand  them,  who  is 
clothed  with  majesty  and  glory  as  with  a  garment,  and  be- 
fore whom  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are  as  grass- 
hoppers, as  nothing,  as  less  than  nothing,  and  vanity  ?  If 
wisdom  excites  our  pleasing  wonder,  here  is  an  unfath- 
omable depth.  Oh  the  depth  of  the  riches  of  the  wisdom 
and  knowledge  of  God !  If  goodness,  grace,  and  mercy 
attract  our  love  and  gratitude,  here  these  amiable  perfec- 
tions shine  in  their  most  alluring  glories.  If  justice  strikes 
a  damp  to  the  guilty,  here  is  justice  in  all  its  tremendous 
majesty.  If  veracity,  if  candor,  if  any,  or  all  of  the  moral 
virtues  engage  our  esteem,  here  they  all  centre  in  their 
highest  perfection.  If  the  presence  of  a  king  strikes  a 
reverence;  if  the  eye  of  his  judge  awes  the  criminal,  and 
restrains  him  from  offending,  certainly  we  should  fear 
before  the  Lord  all  the  day,  for  we  are  surrounded  with 
his  omnipresence,  and  he  is  the  inspector  and  judge  of  all 
our  thoughts  and  actions.  If  riches  excite  desire,  here 


172  THE    NATURE    AND    UNIVERSALITY 

are  unsearchable  riches :  if  happiness  has  charms  that 
draw  all  the  world  after  it,  here  is  an  unbounded  ocean  of 
happiness;  here  is  the  only  complete  portion  for  an  im- 
mortal mind.  Men  are  affected  with  these  things  in  one 
another,  though  found  in  a  very  imperfect  degree.  Power 
awes  and  commands ;  virtue  and  goodness  please ;  beauty 
charms;  justice  strikes  with  solemnity  and  terror;  a 
bright  genius  is  admired ;  a  benevolent,  merciful  temper 
is  loved :  thus  men  are  affected  with  created  excellences. 
Whence  is  it,  then,  they  are  so  stupidly  unaffected  with 
the  supreme  excellences  of  Jehovah? 

Here,  my  brethren,  turn  your  eyes  inward  upon  your- 
selves, and  inquire,  are  not  several  of  you  conscious  that, 
though  you  have  passions  for  such  objects  as  these,  and 
you  are  easily  moved  by  them,  yet,  with  regard  to  the 
perfections  of  the  supreme  and  best  of  beings,  your  hearts 
are  habitually  senseless  and  unaffected  ?  It  is  not  an  easy 
thing  to  make  impressions  upon  you  by  them;  and  what 
increases  the  wonder,  and  aggravates  your  guilt,  is,  that 
you  are  thus  senseless  and  unaffected,  when  you  believe  and 
profess  that  these  perfections  are  really  in  God,  and  that 
in  the  highest  degree  possible.  In  other  cases  you  can 
love  what  appears  amiable,  you  revere  what  is  great  and 
majestic,  you  eagerly  desire  and  pursue  what  is  valuable 
and  tends  to  your  happiness;  and  all  this  you  do  freely, 
spontaneously,  vigorously,  by  the  innate  inclination  and 
tendency  of  your  nature,  without  reluctance,  without  corn- 
pulsation,  nay,  without  persuasion;  but  as  to  God  and 
all  his  perfections,  you  are  strangely  insensible,  backward, 
and  averse.  Where  is  there  one  being  that  has  any  con- 
fessed excellency  in  the  compass  of  human  knowledge, 
that  does  not  engage  more  of  the  thoughts  and  affections 
of  mankind  than  the  glorious  and  ever  blessed  God  ?  The 
sun,  moon,  and  stars  have  had  more  worshippers  than  the 


OF    SPIRITUAL    DEATH.  173 

uncreated  fountain  of  light  from  which  they  derive  their 
lustre.  Kings  and  ministers  of  state  have  more  punctual 
homage  and  more  frequent  applications  made  to  them  than 
the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  Created  enjoyments 
are  more  eagerly  pursued  than  the  supreme  good.  Search 
all  the  world  over,  and  you  will  find  but  very  little  mo- 
tions of  heart  towards  God ;  little  love,  little  desire,  little 
searching  after  him.  You  will  often,  indeed,  see  him  hon- 
oured with  the  compliment  of  a  bended  knee,  and  a  few 
heartless  words,  under  the  name  of  a  prayer;  but  where  is 
the  heart,  or  where  are  the  thoughts,  where  the  affec- 
tions ?  These  run  wild  through  the  world,  and  are  scat- 
tered among  a  thousand  other  objects.  The  heart  has  no 
prevailing  tendency  toward  God,  the  thoughts  are  shy  of 
him,  the  affections  have  no  innate  propensity  to  him.  In 
short,  in  this  respect,  the  whole  man  is  out  of  order :  here 
he  does  not  at  all  act  like  himself;  here  are  no  affection- 
ate thoughts,  no  delightful  meditations,  no  ardent  desires, 
no  eager  pursuits  and  vigorous  endeavours ;  but  all  is  list- 
less, stupid,  indisposed,  inactive,  and  averse :  and  what  is 
the  matter? — "Lord!  what  is  this  that  has  seized  the 
souls  of  thine  own  offspring,  that  they  are  thus  utterly 
disordered  towards  thee?"  The  reason  is,  they  are  dead, 
dead  in  tresspasses  and  sins.  It  is  impossible  a  living 
soul  should  be  so  stupid  and  unaffected  with  such  an 
object;  it  must  be  a  dead  soul  that  has  no  feeling.  Yes, 
sinners,  this  is  the  melancholy  reason  why  you  are  so 
thoughtless,  so  unconcerned,  so  senseless  about  the  God 
that  made  you :  you  are  dead.  And  what  is  the  reason 
that  you,  who  have  been  begotten  again  to  a  spiritual  life, 
and  who  are  united  to  Christ  as  your  vital  head,  what  is 
the  reason  that  you  so  often  feel  such  languishments ;  that 
the  pulse  of  spiritual  life  beats  so  faint  and  irregular,  and 
that  its  motions  are  so  feeble  and  slow  ?  All  this  you  feel 


174  THE    NATURE    AND    UNIVERSALITY 

and  lament,  but  how  comes  it  to  pass  ?  what  can  be  the 
cause  that  you,  who  have  indeed  tasted  that  the  Lord  is 
gracious,  and  are  sensible  that  he  is  all-glorious  and  lovely, 
and  your  only  happiness — Oh  !  what  can  be  the.  cause, 
that  you,  of  all  men  in  the  world,  should  be  so  little  en- 
gaged to  him  ?  Alas !  the  cause  is,  you  have  been  dead, 
and  the  deadly  stupor  has  not  yet  left  you:  you  have 
(blessed  be  the  quickening  Spirit  of  Christ !)  you  have  re- 
ceived a  little  life ;  but,  alas !  it  is  a  feeble  spark ;  it  finds 
the  principles  of  death  still  strong  in  your  constitution ; 
these  it  must  struggle  with,  and  by  them  it  is  often  borne 
down,  suppressed,  and  just  expiring.  Walk  humbly,  then, 
and  remember  your  shame,  that  you  were  once  dead,  and 
children  of  wrath,  even  as  others.  The  carelessness  and 
indisposition  of  the  soul  towards  the  supreme  excellence 
will  appear  yet  more  evident  and  astonishing,  if  we  con- 
sider, 

II.  The  august  and  endearing  relations  the  great  and 
blessed  God  sustains  to  us,  and  the  many  ways  he  has 
taken  to  make  dutiful  and  grateful  impressions  upon  our 
hearts.  What  tender  endearments  are  there  contained  in 
the  relation  of  a  Father  !  This  he  bears  to  us :  he  made 
us,  and  not  we  ourselves.  Our  bodies,  indeed,  are  pro- 
duced in  a  succession  from  Adam  by  generation,  but  who 
was  it  that  began  the  series  ?  It  was  the  Almighty,  who 
formed  the  first  man  of  the  dust :  it  was  he  who  first  put 
the  succession  of  causes  in  motion ;  and,  therefore,  he  is 
the  grand  original  cause,  and  the  whole  chain  depends 
upon  him.  Who  was  it  that  first  established  the  laws  of 
generation,  and  still  continues  them  in  force  ?  It  is  the 
all-creating  parent  of  nature :  and  without  him  men  would 
have  been  no  more,  able  to  produce  one  another  than 
stones  or  clods  of  earth.  As  to  our  souls,  the  principal 
part  of  our  persons,  God  is  their  immediate  author,  with- 


OF    SPIRITUAL     DEATH.  175 

out  the  least  concurrence  of  secondary  causes.  Hence  he 
is  called  the  Father  of  jour  spirits  in  a  peculiar  sense, 
Heb.  xii.  9 ;  and  he  assumes  the  endearing  name  of  "  the 
God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh."  Numb.  xvi.  22.  Now 
the  name  of  a  father  is  wont  to  carry  some  endearment 
and  authority.  Children,  especially  in  their  young  and 
helpless  years,  are  fond  of  their  father ;  their  little  hearts 
beat  with  a  thousand  grateful  passions  towards  him;  they 
love  to  be  dandled  on  his  knees,  and  fondled  in  his  arms; 
and  they  fly  to  him  upon  every  appearance  of  danger :  but 
if  God  be  a  father,  where  is  his  honour  ?  here,  alas !  the 
filial  passions  are  senseless  and  immoveable.  It  is  but  a 
little  time  since  we  came  from  his  creating  hand,  and  yet 
we  have  forgotten  him.  It  seems  unnatural  for  his  own 
offspring  to  inquire,  "  Where  is  God  my  Maker  ?"  They 
show  no  fondness  for  him,  no  affectionate  veneration,  and 
no  humble  confidence ;  their  hearts  are  dead  towards  him, 
as  though  there  were  no  such  being,  or  no  such  near  re- 
lation subsisting  between  them.  In  childhood,  a  rattle  or 
a  straw,  or  any  trifle,  is  more  thought  of  than  their  hea- 
venly Father :  in  riper  years,  their  vain  pleasures  and 
secular  pursuits  command  more  of  their  affections  than 
their  divine  original  and  only  happiness. 

Compare  your  natural  temper  towards  your  heavenly 
Father,  and  towards  your  earthly  parents,  and  how  wide 
is  the  difference!  Nature  works  strong  in  your  hearts 
towards  them,  but  towards  him  all  the  filial  passions  are 
dull  and  dead;  and  why?  alas!  the  reason  is,  you  are  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins.  But  this  relation  of  a  Father  is 
not  the  only  relation  our  God  sustains  to  you;  he  is  your 
supreme  King,  to  whom  you  owe  allegiance;  your  Law- 
giver, whose  will  is  the  rule  of  your  conduct;  and  your 
Judge,  who  will  call  you  to  an  account,  and  reward  or 
punish  you  according  to  your  works;  but  how  unnatural 


176 


THE    NATURE    AND    UNIVERSALITY 


is  it  to  men  to  revere  the  most  high  God  under  these 
august  characters !  Where  is  there  a  king  upon  earth, 
however  weak  or  tyrannical,  but  is  more  regarded  by  his 
subjects  than  the  King  of  heaven  by  the  generality  of  men  ? 
Were  ever  such  excellent  laws  contemned  and  violated  ? 
Did  ever  criminals  treat  their  judge  with  so  much  neglect 
and  contempt?  And  are  these  souls  alive  to  God  who 
thus  treat  him?  No.  Alas!  "they  are  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins ;"  however  lively  they  are  towards  other 
things,  yet  in  this  respect  they  are  seized  with  a  deadly 
stupor.  God  is  also  our  Guardian  and  Deliverer;  and 
from  how  many  dangers  has  he  preserved  us !  from  how 
many  calamities  has  he  delivered  us !  Dangers,  distresses 
and  deaths  crowd  upon  us,  and  surround  us  in  every  age 
and  every  place :  the  air,  the  earth,  the  sea,  and  every 
element,  are  pregnant  with  numberless  principles  of  pain 
and  death  ready  to  seize  and  destroy  us :  sickness  and 
death  swarm  around  us:  nay,  they  lie  in  ambush  in  our 
own  constitution,  and  are  perpetually  undermining  our 
lives,  and  yet  our  divine  Guardian  preserves  us  for  months 
and  years  unhurt,  untouched ;  or  if  he  suffers  the  calamity 
to  fall,  or  death  to  threaten,  he  flies  to  our  deliverance ; 
and  how  many  salvations  of  this  kind  has  he  wrought 
for  us;  salvations  from  accidents,  from  sicknesses,  from 
pain,  from  sorrows,  from  death;  salvations  from  dan- 
gers seen  and  unseen ;  salvations  in  infancy,  in  youth,  and 
in  maturer  years !  These  things  we  cannot  deny  without 
the  most  stupid  ignorance,  and  an  atheistical  disbelief  of 
divine  Providence.  Now,  such  repeated,  such  long-con- 
tinued, such  unmerited  favours  as  these  would  not  pass  for 
nothing  between  man  and  man.  We  have  hearts  to  feel 
such  obligations;  nay,  the  ten  thousandth,  the  millionth 
part  of  such  gracious  care  and  goodness  would  be  grate- 
fully received,  and  thankfully  acknowledged.  Indeed  it 


OF    SPIRITUAL   DEATH.  177 

is  impossible  we  should  receive  even  this  small,  this  very 
small  proportion  of  favours  from  men  in  comparison  of 
what  we  receive  from  God ;  and  even  when  they  are  the 
instruments  of  our  deliverance,  he  is  the  original  Author. 
But  after  all,  is  there  a  natural  aptitude  in  the  hearts  of 
men  to  think  of  their  gracious  Guardian  and  Saviour? 
Does  the  principle  of  gratitude  naturally  lead  them  to  love 
him,  and  to  make  thankful  acknowledgments  to  him? 
Alas !  no.  They  may  indeed  feel  some  transient,  super- 
ficial workings  of  gratitude  when  under  the  fresh  sense 
of  some  remarkable  deliverance;  but  these  impressions 
soon  wear  off,  and  they  become  as  thoughtless  and  stupid 
as  ever.  But  let  a  man,  like  yourselves,  save  you  from 
some  great  distress,  you  will  always  gratefully  remember 
him,  think  of  him  often  with  pleasure,  and  take  all  oppor- 
tunities of  returning  his  kindness,  especially  if  your  deli- 
verer was  much  your  superior,  and  independent  upon  you ; 
if  you  had  forfeited  his  favour,  provoked  him,  and  incurred 
his  displeasure:  great  favours  from  such  an  one  would 
make  impressions  upon  the  most  obdurate  heart. 

But  though  God  be  infinitely  superior  to  us,  and  it  is 
nothing  to  him  what  becomes  of  us,  though  we  have  re- 
belled against  him,  and  deserve  his  vengeance,  yet  ten 
thousand  deliverances  from  his  hands  have  little  or  no 
effect  upon  the  hearts  of  men :  all  these  cannot  bring  them 
to  think  of  him,  or  love  him  as  much  as  they  do  a  friend, 
or  a  common  benefactor  of  their  own  species;  and  does 
such  stupid  ingratitude  discover  any  spiritual  life  in  them  ? 
No :  they  are  dead  in  this  respect,  though  they  are  all 
alive  to  those  passions  that  terminate  upon  created  objects. 
Further,  God  is  the  Benefactor  of  mankind,  not  only  in 
delivering  them  from  dangers  and  calamities,  but  in  bestow- 
ing unnumbered  positive  blessings  upon  them.  Here  I 

cannot  pretend  to  be  particular,  for  the  list  of  blessings  is 
VOL.  I.— 23 


178  THE    NATURE    AND    UNIVERSALITY 

endless ;  and  it  will  be  the  happy  employment  of  an  eter- 
nity to  recollect  and  enumerate  them.  What  an  exten- 
sive and  well-furnished  world  has  our  God  formed  for  our 
accommodation!  For  us  he  has  enriched  the  sun  with 
light  and  heat,  and  the  earth  with  fruitfulness.  The  nu- 
merous inhabitants  of  every  element,  the  plants,  minerals, 
and  beasts  of  the  earth,  the  fishes  of  the  sea,  the  fowls  of 
the  air,  are  all  rendering  their  service  to  man ;  some  afford 
him  food,  and  others  work  for  him:  the  wind  and  seas, 
fire  and  water,  stones  and  trees,  all  conspire  to  be  useful 
to  him.  Our  divine  Benefactor  crowns  us  with  the  bless- 
ings of  liberty,  of  society,  of  friendship,  and  the  most 
endearing  relations :  he  preserves  our  health,  gives  us  "  rain 
from  heaven,  and  fruitful  seasons,  and  fills  our  hearts 
with  food  and  gladness."  In  short,  he  gives  us  life, 
and  breath,  and  all  things ;  every  day,  every  hour,  every 
moment  has  arrived  to  us  richly  freighted  with  blessings; 
blessings  have  resided  with  us  at  home,  and  attended  us 
abroad;  blessings  presented  themselves  ready  for  our  en- 
joyment as  soon  as  we  entered  into  the  world ;  then  God 
provided  hands  to  receive  us,  knees  to  support  us,  breasts 
to  suckle  us,  and  parents  to  guard  and  cherish  us ;  bless- 
ings have  grown  up  with  us,  and  given  such  constant 
attendance,  that  they  are  become  familiar  to  us,  and  are 
the  inseparable  companions  of  our  lives.  It  is  no  new 
or  useful  thing  to  us  to  see  an  illustrious  sun  rising  to  give 
us  the  day,  to  enjoy  repose  in  the  night,  to  rise  refreshed 
and  vigourous  in  the  morning,  to  see  our  tables  spread 
with  plenty,  the  trees  covered  with  fruit,  the  fields  with 
grain  and  various  forms  of  animals  growing  up  for  our 
support  or  service.  These  are  such  familiar  blessings  to 
us,  that  they  too  often  seem  things  of  course,  or  necessary 
appendages  of  our  being.  What  a  crowd  of  blessings  have 
crowned  tie  present  morning !  You  and  yours  are  alive 


OF    SPIRITUAL    DEATH.  179 

and  well,  you  have  not  come  hither  ghastly  and  pining 
with  hunger,  or  agonizing  with  pain.  How  many  refresh- 
ing draughts  of  air  have  you  drawn  this  morning !  how 
many  sprightly  and  regular  pulses  have  beat  through  your 
frame !  how  many  easy  motions  have  you  performed  with 
hands,  feet,  eyes,  tongues,  and  other  members  of  your 
body !  and  are  not  all  these  favours  from  God  ?  Yes,  un- 
doubtedly ;  and  thus  has  he  gone  on  blessing  you  all  your 
days,  without  any  interruption  at  all  in  many  of  these  par- 
ticulars of  kindness,  and  with  but  very  little  in  the  rest. 
Sinful  and  miserable  as  this  world  is,  it  is  a  treasury  rich 
in  blessings,  a  storehouse  full  of  provisions,  a  dwelling  well 
furnished  for  the  accommodation  of  mortals,  and  all  by  the 
care,  and  at  the  expense  of  that  gracious  God  who  first 
made  and  still  preserves  it  what  it  is.  "  Lord,  whence  is 
it  then  that  the  inhabitants  forget  and  neglect  thee,  as 
though  they  were  not  at  all  obliged  to  thee  ?  Oh ! 
whence  is  it  that  they  love  thy  gifts,  and  yet  disregard  the 
Giver  1  that  they  think  less  of  thee  than  an  earthly  father 
or  friend,  or  a  human  benefactor ;  that  there  should  be  so 
little  gratitude  towards  thee,  that  of  all  benefactors  thou 
shouldst  be  the  least  acknowledged;  that  the  benefactors 
of  nations,  and  even  of  private  persons,  in  instances  un- 
worthy to  be  mentioned  with  those  of  thy  goodness,  should 
be  celebrated,  and  even  adored,  while  thou  art  neglected, 
thine  agency  overlooked,  and  thy  goodness  forgotten? 
Oh !  whence  is  this  strange  phenomenon,  this  unaccount- 
able, unprecedented  stupidity  and  ingratitude  in  reasonable 
creatures  1  Surely,  if  they  had  any  life,  any  sensation  in 
this  respect,  they  would  not  be  capable  of  such  a  conduct; 
but  they  are  dead,  dead  to  all  the  generous  sensations  of 
gratitude  to  God;  and  as  a  dead  corpse  feels  no  grati- 
tude to  those  that  perform  the  last  friendly  office  and 
cover  it  with  earth,  so  a  dead  soul  stands  unmoved 


180  THE    NATURE    AND    UNIVERSALITY 

under  all  the  profusion  of  blessings  which  heaven  pours 
upon  it. 

The  blessings  I  have  mentioned,  which  are  confined  to 
the  present  state,  are  great,  and  deserve  our  wonder  and 
thanksgiving;  especially,  considering  that  they  are  be- 
stowed upon  a  race  of  rebellious,  ungrateful  creatures, 
who  deserve  the  severest  vengeance;  but  there  is  a  set 
of  blessings  yet  unmentioned,  of  infinitely  greater  impor- 
tance, in  which  all  others  are  swallowed  up,  by  the 
glory  of  which  they  are  obscured,  like  the  stars  of  night 
by  the  rising  sun.  To  some  of  our  race  God  has  given 
crowns  and  kingdoms.  For  Israel  Jehovah  wrought 
the  most  astonishing  miracles;  seas  and  rivers  opened 
to  make  way  for  them ;  rocks  burst  into  springs  of  water 
to  quench  their  thirst;  the  clouds  poured  down  manna, 
and  fed  them  with  bread  from  heaven;  their  God  delivered 
Daniel  from  the  jaws  of  hungry  lions,  and  his  three  com- 
panions from  the  burning  fiery  furnace.  He  has  restored 
health  to  the  sick,  sight  to  the  blind,  and  life  to  the  dead. 
These  blessings  and  deliverances  have  something  majestic 
and  striking  in  them :  and  had  we  been  the  subjects  of 
them,  we  could  not  but  have  regarded  them  as  great  and 
singular;  but  what  are  these  in  comparison  of  God's  gift 
of  his  Son,  and  the  blessings  he  has  purchased !  his  Son, 
who  is  of  greater  value,  and  dearer  to  him  than  ten  thou- 
sand worlds ;  his  beloved  Son,  in  whom  he  is  well  pleased ; 
him  has  he  given  for  us,  given  up  to  three-and-thirty  years 
of  the  most  mortifying  abasement,  and  an  incessant  conflict 
with  the  severest  trials ;  given  up  to  death,  and  all  the  igno- 
miny and  agonies  of  crucifixion.  Thus  has  God  loved  our 
world !  and  never  was  there  such  a  display  of  love  in  hea- 
ven or  on  earth.  You  can  no  more  find  love  equal  to 
this  among  creatures,  than  you  can  find  among  them  the 
infinite  power  that  formed  the  universe  out  of  nothing. 


OF    SPIRITUAL    DEATH.  181 

This  will  stand  upon  record  to-  all  eternity,  as  the  unprece- 
dented, unparalleled,  inimitable  love  of  God.  And  it  ap- 
pears the  more  illustrious  when  we  consider  that  this  un- 
speakable gift  was  given  to  sinners,  to  rebels,  to  enemies, 
that  were  so  far  from  deserving  it,  that,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  is  a  miracle  of  mercy  that  they  are  not  all  groaning  for 
ever  under  the  tremendous  weight  of  his  justice.  Oh ! 
that  I  could  say  something  becoming  this  love ;  something 
that  might  do  honour  to  it !  but,  alas !  the  language  of 
mortals  was  formed  for  lower  subjects.  This  love  passes 
all  description  and  all  knowledge.  Consider  also  what  rich 
blessings  Christ  has  purchased  for  us ;  purchased  not  with 
such  corruptible  things  as  silver  and  gold,  but  with  his  own 
precious  blood;  the  price  recommends  and  endears  the 
blessings,  though  they  are  so  great  in  themselves,  as  to 
need  no  such  recommendation  !  What  can  be  greater  or 
more  suitable  blessings  to  persons  in  our  circumstances, 
than  pardon  for  the  guilty,  redemption  for  slaves,  righteous- 
ness and  justification  for  the  condemned,  sanctification  for 
the  unholy,  rest  for  the  weary,  comfort  for  mourners,  the 
favour  of  God  for  rebels  and  exiles,  strength  for  the  impo- 
tent, protection  for  the  helpless,  everlasting  happiness  for  the 
heirs  of  hell,  and,  to  sum  up  all,  grace  and  glory,  and  every 
good  thing,  and  all  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ  for 
the  wretched  and  miserable,  the  poor,  the  blind,  and  naked ! 
These  are  blessings  indeed,  and,  in  comparison  of  them, 
all  the  riches  of  the  world  are  impoverished,  and  vanish 
to  nothing;  and  all  these  blessings  are  published,  offered 
freely,  indefinitely  offered  to  you,  to  me,  to  the  greatest 
sinner  on  earth,  in  the  gospel;  and  we  are  allowed — 
allowed,  did  I  say?  we  are  invited  with  the  utmost  im- 
portunity, entreated  with  the  most  compassionate  tender- 
ness and  condescension,  and  commanded  by  the  highest 
authority,  upon  pain  of  eternal  damnation,  to  accept  the 


182  THE    NATURE   AND    UNIVERSALITY 

blessings  presented  to  us !  And  what  reception  does  all 
this  love  meet  with  in  our  world?  I  tremble  to  think 
of  it. 

It  is  plain,  these  things  are  proposed  to  a  world  dead  in 
sin ;  for  they  are  all  still,  all  unmoved,  all  senseless  under 
such  a  revelation  of  infinite  grace;  mankind  know  not  what  it 
is  to  be  moved,  melted,  transported  with  the  love  of  a  cru- 
cified Saviour,  till  divine  grace  visits  their  hearts,  and  forms 
them  into  new  creatures ;  they  feel  no  longer  solicitude, 
nay,  not  so  much  as  willingness  to  receive  these  blessings, 
till  they  become  willing  by  almighty  power:  and  judge  ye, 
my  brethren,  whether  they  are  not  dead  souls  that  are 
proof  even  against  the  love  of  God  in  Christ,  that  are  not 
moved  and  melted  by  the  agonies  of  his  cross,  that  are 
careless  about  such  inestimable  blessings  as  these?  Has 
that  soul  any  spiritual  life  in  it,  that  can  sit  senseless  under 
the  cross  of  Jesus,  that  can  forget  him,  neglect  him,  dis- 
honour him,  after  all  his  love  and  all  his  sufferings :  that 
feels  a  prevailing  indifference  and  languor  towards  him; 
that  loves  him  less  than  an  earthly  friend,  and  seeks  him 
with  less  eagerness  than  gold  and  silver?  Is  not  every 
generous  passion,  every  principle  of  gratitude  quite  ex- 
tinct in  such  a  spirit  ?  It  may  be  alive  to  other  objects, 
but  towards  this  it  is  dead,  and  alas !  is  not  this  the  com- 
mon case  ?  Oh  look  round  the  world,  and  what  do  you 
see  but  a  general  neglect  of  the  blessed  Jesus,  and  all  the 
blessings  of  his  gospel?  How  cold,  how  untoward,  how 
reluctant,  how  averse  are  the  hearts  of  men  towards  him ! 
how  hard  to  persuade  them  to  think  of  him  and  love  him ! 
Try  to  persuade  men  to  give  over  their  sins  which  grieve 
him,  dishonour  him,  and  were  the  cause  of  his  death ;  try 
to  engage  them  to  devote  themselves  entirely  to  him,  and 
live  to  his  glory,  alas !  you  try  in  vain ;  their  hearts  still 
continue  cold  and  hard  as  a  stone ;  try  to  persuade  them 


OF    SPIRITUAL    DEATH.  183 

to  murder  or  robbery,  and  you  are  more  likely  to  prevail. 
Suffer  me,  in  my  astonishment,  to  repeat  this  most  melan- 
choly truth  again;  the  generality  of  mankind  are  habit- 
ually careless  about  the  blessed  Jesus ;  they  will  not  seek 
him,  nor  give  their  hearts  and  affections,  though  they  must 
perish  for  ever  by  their  neglect  of  him !  Astonishing, 
and  most  lamentable,  that  ever  such  perverseness  and 
stupidity  should  seize  the  soul  of  man!  Methinks  I 
could  here  take  up  a  lamentation  over  human  nature,  and 
fall  on  my  knees  with  this  prayer  for  my  fellow  men, 
"  Father  of  spirits,  and  Lord  of  life,  quicken,  oh  quicken 
these  dead  souls!"  Oh,  Sirs,  while  we  see  death  all 
around  us,  and  feel  it  benumbing  our  own  souls,  who  can 
help  the  most  bitter  wailing  and  lamentation?  who  can 
restrain  himself  from  crying  to  the  great  Author  of  life  for 
a  happy  resurrection  ?  While  the  valley  of  dry  bones  lies 
before  me,  while  the  carnage,  the  charnel-house  of  im- 
mortal souls  strikes  my  sight  all  around  me  far  and  wide, 
how  can  I  forbear  crying,  Come  from  the  four  winds,  oh 
breath,  and  breathe  upon  these  slain,  that  they  may  live ! 
But  to  turn  from  this  digression,  into  which  I  was  un- 
avoidably hurried  by  the  horror  of  the  subject,  I  would 
observe  farther,  that  kind  usage  and  pleasing  treatment 
may  not  always  be  best  for  such  creatures  as  we  are: 
fatherly  severities  and  chastisements,  though  not  agreeable 
to  us,  yet  may  be  necessary  and  conducive  to  our  greatest 
good.  Accordingly,  God  has  tried  the  force  of  chastise- 
ments to  make  impressions  on  our  hearts:  these  indeed 
have  been  but  few  in  comparison  of  his  more  agreeable 
dispensations;  yet  recollect  whether  you  have  not  fre- 
quently felt  his  rod.  Have  you  not  languished  under 
sickness  and  pain,  and  been  brought  within  a  near  view 
of  the  king  of  terrors?  Have  you  not  suffered  the  be- 
reavement of  friends  and  relations,  and  met  with  losses, 


184 


THE   NATURE    AND    UNIVERSALITY 


adversity,  and  disappointments  ?  Others  have  felt  still 
greater  calamities  in  a  closer  succession,  and  with  fewer 
mercies  intermixed.  These  things,  one  would  think, 
would  immediately  bring  men  to  regard  the  hand  that 
smites  them,  and  make  them  sensible  of  their  undutiful 
conduct,  which  has  procured  the  correction;  these  are  like 
the  application  of  fire  to  one  in  a  lethargy,  to  awaken  him 
to  life;  but  alas!  under  all  these  afflictions  the  stupor  and 
insensibility  still  remain.  Sinners  groan  by  reason  of  op- 
pression, but  it  is  not  natural  for  them  to  inquire,  Where 
is  God  my  Maker,  that  giveth  songs  in  the  night  ?  It  is 
not  natural  for  them  to  repent  of  their  undutiful  conduct 
and  amend;  or  if  they  are  awakened  to  some  little  sense, 
while  the  painful  rod  of  the  Almighty  is  yet  upon  them, 
as  soon  as  it  is  removed  they  become  as  hardened  and 
senseless  as  ever.  And  is  not  a  state  of  death  a  very 
proper  representation  of  such  sullen,  incorrigible  stupidity  ? 
Living  souls  have  very  tender  sensations,;  one  touch  of 
their  heavenly  Father's  hand  makes  deep  impressions  upon 
them ;  they  tremble  at  his  frown,  they  fall  and  weep  at  his 
feet,  they  confess  their  offences,  and  mourn  over,  them; 
they  fly  to  the  arms  of  mercy  to  escape  the  impending 
blow ;  and  thus  would  all  do  were  they  not  quite  destitute 
of  spiritual  life. 

I  have  materials  sufficient  for  a  discourse  of  some  hours ; 
but  at  present  I  must  abruptly  drop  the  subject :  however, 
I  cannot  dismiss  you  without  making  a  few  reflections. 
And, 

1.  What  a  strange,  affecting  view  does  this  subject  give 
us  of  this  assembly !  I  doubt  not  but  I  may  accommodate 
the  text  to  some  of  you  with  this  agreeable  addition, 
"  You  hath  he  quickened,  though  you  were  once  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins."  Though  the  vital  pulse  beats  faint 
and  irregular,  and  your  spiritual  life  is  but  very  low,  yet, 


OF    SPIRITUAL    DEATH.  185 

blessed  be  God,  you  are  not  entirely  dead :  you  have  some 
living  sensations,  some  lively  and  vigorous  exercises  in  re- 
ligion. On  the  other  hand,  I  doubt  not  but  some  of  you 
not  only  were,  but  still  are,  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins. 
It  is  not  to  be  expected  in  our  world,  at  least  not  before 
the  millennium,  that  we  shall  see  such  a  mixed  company 
together,  and  all  living  souls.  Here  then  is  the  difference 
between  you;  some  of  you  are  spiritually  alive,  and  some 
of  you  are  spiritually  dead;  here  the  living  and  the  dead 
are  blended  together  in  the  same  assembly,  on  the  same 
seat,  and  united  in  the  nearest  relations:  here  sits  a  dead 
soul,  there  another,  and  there  another,  and  a  few  living 
souls  scattered  here  and  there  among  them ;  here  is  a  dead 
parent  and  a  living  child,  or  a  dead  child  and  a  living 
parent ;  here  life  and  death  (oh,  shocking !)  are  united  in 
the  bonds  of  conjugal  love,  and  dwell  under  the  same 
roof :  here  is  a  dead  servant  and  a  living  master :  and  there 
a  dead  master  (oh,  terrible!)  commands  a  living  servant. 
Should  I  trace  the  distinction  beyond  this  assembly  into 
the  world,  we  shall  find  a  family  here  and  there  that  have 
a  little  life ;  perhaps  one,  perhaps  two,  discover  some  vital 
symptoms ;  but  oh,  what  crowds  of  dead  families !  all  dead 
together,  and  no  endeavours  used  to  bring  one  another  to 
life ;  a  death-like  silence  about  eternal  things ;  a  deadly 
stupor  and  insensibility  reign  among  them ;  they  breathe 
out  no  desires  and  prayers  after  God,  nor  does  the  vital 
pulse  of  love  beat  in  their  hearts  towards  him ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  their  souls  are  putrefying  in  sin,  which  is  very 
emphatically  called  corruption  by  the  sacred  writers;  they 
are  overrun  and  devoured  by  their  lusts,  and  worms  insult 
and  destroy  the  dead  body.  Call  to  them,  they  will  not 
awake ;  thunder  the  terrors  of  the  Lord  in  their  ears,  they 
will  not  hear ;  offer  them  all  the  blessings  of  the  gospel, 
they  will  not  stretch  out  the  hand  of  faith  to  receive  them ; 

VOL.  I.—  24 


186  THE    NATURE    AND    UNIVERSALITY 

lay  the  word  of  God,  the  bread  of  life,  before  them,  they 
have  no  appetite  for  it.  In  short,  the  plain  symptoms  of 
death  are  upon  them :  the  animal  is  alive,  but  alas !  the 
spirit  is  dead  towards  God.  And  what  an  affecting, 
melancholy  view  does  this  give  of  this  assembly,  and  of 
the  world  in  general !  Oh,  that  my  head  were  waters,  and 
mine  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and 
night  for  the  slain  of  the  daughter  of  my  people  !  Weep 
not  for  the  afflicted,  weep  not  over  ghastly  corpses  dis- 
solving into  their  original  dust,  but  oh!  weep  for  dead 
souls.  Should  God  now  strike  all  those  persons  dead  in 
this  assembly,  whose  souls  are  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins, 
should  he  lay  them  all  in  pale  corpses  before  us,  like 
Ananias  and  Sapphira  at  the  apostles'  feet,  what  numbers 
of  you  would  never  return  from  this  house  more,  and 
what  lamentations  would  there  be  among  the  surviving 
few!  One  would  lose  a  husband  or  a  wife,  another  a 
son  or  a  daughter,  another  a  father  or  a  mother ;  alas ! 
would  not  some  whole  families  be  swept  off  together,  all 
blended  in  one  promiscuous  death?  Such  a  sight  as  this 
would  strike  terror  into  the  hardiest  heart  among  you. 
But  what  is  this  to  a  company  of  rational  spirits  slain  and 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  ?  How  deplorable  and  inex- 
pressibly melancholy  a  sight  this!  Therefore, 

2.  Awake  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the  dead, 
and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light.  This  call  is  directed  to 
you,  dead  sinners;  which  is  a  sufficient  warrant  for  me  to 
exhort  and  persuade  you.  The  principle  of  reason  is  still 
alive  in  you;  you  are  also  sensible  of  your  own  interest, 
and  feel  the  workings  of  self-love.  It  is  God  alone  that 
can  quicken  you,  but  he  effects  this  by  a  power  that  does 
not  exclude,  but  attends  rational  instructions  and  per- 
suasions to  your  understanding.  Therefore,  though  I  am 
sure  you  will  continue  dead  still  if  left  to  yourselves,  yet 


OF    SPIRITUAL    DEATH.  187 

with  some  trembling  hopes  that  his  power  may  accompany 
my  feeble  words,  and  impregnate  them  with  life,  I  call 
upon,  I  entreat,  I  charge  you  sinners  to  rouse  yourselves 
out  of  your  dead  sleep,  and  seek  to  obtain  spiritual  life ! 
Now,  while  my  voice  sounds  in  your  ears,  now,  this  mo- 
ment, waft  up  this  prayer,  "  Lord,  pity  a  dead  soul,  a  soul 
that  has  been  dead  for  ten,  twenty,  thirty,  forty  years  or 
more,  and  lain  corrupting  in  sin,  and  say  unto  me,  Live  : 
from  this  moment  let  me  live  unto  thee."  Let  this  prayer 
be  still  upon  your  hearts :  keep  your  souls  always  in  a 
supplicating  posture,  and  who  knows  but  that  he,  who 
raised  Lazarus  from  the  grave,  may  give  you  a  spiritual 
resurrection  to  a  more  important  life  ?  But  if  you  wilfully 
continue  your  security,  expect  in  a  little  time  to  suffer  the 
second  death ;  the  mortification  will  become  incurable ;  and 
then,  though  you  will  be  still  dead  to  God,  yet  you  will 
be  "  tremblingly  alive  all  over"  to  the  sensation  of  pain  and 
torture.  Oh  that  I  could  gain  but  this  one  request  of  you, 
which  your  own  interest  so  strongly  enforces !  but  alas !  it 
has  been  so  often  refused,  that  to  expect  to  prevail  is  to 
hope  against  hope. 

3.  Let  the  children  of  God  be  sensible  of  their  great 
happiness  in  being  made  spiritually  alive.     Life  is  a  prin- 
ciple, a  capacity  necessary  for  enjoyments  of  any  kind. 
Without  animal  life  you  would  be  as  incapable  of  animal 
pleasures  as  a  stone  or  a  clod;   and  without  spiritual  life 
you  can  no  more  enjoy  the  happiness  of  heaven  than  a 
beast  or  a  devil.     This  therefore  is  a  preparative,  a  pre- 
vious qualification,  and  a  sure  pledge  and  earnest  of  ever- 
lasting life.     How  highly  then  are  you  distinguished,  and 
what  cause  have  you  for  gratitude  and  praise ! 

4.  Let  us  all  be  sensible  of  this   important  truth,  that 
it  is  entirely  by  grace  we  are  saved.     This  is  the  inference 
the  apostle  expressly  makes  from  this  doctrine ;  and  he  is 


188      NATURE  AND  UNIVERSALITY  OF  SPIRITUAL  DEATH. 

so  full  of  it,  that  he  throws  it  into  a  parenthesis,  (verse 
the  5th,)  though  it  breaks  the  connection  of  his  discourse ; 
and  as  soon  as  he  has  room  he  resumes  it  again,  (verse 
8th,)  and  repeats  it  over  and  over,  in  various  forms,  in  the 
compass  of  a  few  verses.  By  grace  ye  are  saved.  By 
grace  are  you  saved  through  faith.  It  is  the  gift  of  God; 
— not  of  yourselves — not  of  works,  (verse  9th.)  This, 
you  see,  is  an  inference  that  seemed  of  great  importance 
to  the  apostle ;  and  what  can  more  naturally  follow  from 
the  premises  ?  If  we  were  once  dead  in  sin,  certainly  it 
is  owing  to  the  freest  grace  that  we  have  been  quickened; 
therefore,  when  we  survey  the  change,  let  us  cry,  "  Grace, 
grace  unto  it !" 


THE  NATURE  AND  PROCESS  OF  SPIRITUAL  LIFE.         189 


SERMON  V. 

THE    NATURE    AND    PROCESS    OF    SPIRITUAL    LIFE. 

EPHES.  ii.  4,  5. — But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  his 
great  love  wherewith  he  loved  us,  even  when  we  were 
dead  in  sins,  hath  quickened  us  together  with  Christ. 

IT  is  not  my  usual  method  to  weary  your  attention  by 
a  long  confinement  to  one  subject;  and  our  religion  fur- 
nishes us  with  such  a  boundless  variety  of  important  topics, 
that  a  minister  who  makes  them  his  study  will  find  no 
temptation  to  cloy  you  with  repetitions,  but  rather  finds  it 
difficult  to  speak  so  concisely  on  one  subject,  as  to  leave 
room  for  others  of  equal  importance;  however,  the  sub- 
ject of  my  last  discourse  was  so  copious  and  interesting, 
that  I  cannot  dismiss  it  without  a  supplement.  I  there 
showed  you  some  of  the  symptoms  of  spiritual  death ;  but 
I  would  not  leave  you  dead  as  I  found  you ;  and  there- 
fore I  intend  now  to  consider  the  counterpart  of  that  sub- 
ject, and  show  you  the  nature  and  symptoms  of  spiritual 
life. 

I  doubt  not  but  a  number  of  you  have  been  made  alive 
to  God  by  his  quickening  spirit;  but  many,  I  fear,  still 
continue  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  ;  and,  while  such  are 
around  me,  I  cannot  help  imagining  my  situation  some- 
thing like  that  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel  (chap,  xxxvii.)  in 
the  midst  of  the  valley  full  of  dry  bones,  spread  far  and 
wide  around  him ;  and  should  I  be  asked,  Can  these  dry 
bones,  can  these  dead  souls  live  ?  I  must  answer  with 
him, — Oh,  Lord  God,  thou  knowest.  Lord,  I  see  no  symp- 


190  THE    NATURE    AND    PROCESS 

toms  of  life  in  them,  no  tendency  towards  it.  I  know 
nothing  is  impossible  to  thee;  I  firmly  believe  thou  canst 
inspire  them  with  life,  dry  and  dead  as  they  are;  and 
what  thy  designs  are  towards  them,  whether  thou  intend- 
est  to  exert  thy  all-quickening  power  upon  them,  thou  only 
knowest,  and  I  would  not  presume  to  determine ;  but  this 
I  know,  that,  if  they  are  left  to  themselves,  they  will  con- 
tinue dead  to  all  eternity;  for,  oh  Lord,  the  experiment 
has  been  repeatedly  tried ;  thy  servant  has  over  and  over 
made  those  quickening  applications  to  them,  which  thy 
word,  that  sacred  dispensary,  prescribes ;  but  all  in  vain : 
they  still  continue  dead  towards  thee,  and  lie  putrefying 
more  and  more  in  trespasses  and  sins;  however,  at  thy 
command,  I  would  attempt  the  most  unpromising  under- 
taking ;  I  would  proclaim  even  unto  dry  bones  and  dead 
souls,  Oh  ye  dry  bones,  oh  ye  dead  souls,  hear  the  word 
of  the  Lord  !  Ezek.  xxxvii.  4.  I  would  also  cry  aloud 
for  the  animating  breath  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Come  from 
the  four  winds,  oh  breath,  and  breathe  upon  these  slain, 
that  they  may  live,  v.  9. 

Ye  dead  sinners,  I  would  make  one  attempt  more  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  to  bring  you  to  life ;  and  if  I  have  the 
least  hope  of  success,  it  is  entirely  owing  to  the  encour- 
aging peradventure  that  the  quickening  spirit  of  Christ  may 
work  upon  your  hearts  while  I  am  addressing  myself  to 
your  ears.  And,  oh  sirs,  let  us  all  keep  our  souls  in  a 
praying  posture,  throughout  this  discourse.  If  one  of  you 
should  fall  into  a  swoon  or  an  apoplexy,  how  would  all 
about  you  bestir  themselves  to  bring  you  to  life  again ! 
And  alas !  shall  dead  souls  lie  so  thick  among  us,  in  every 
assembly,  in  every  family ;  and  shall  no  means  be  used  for 
their  recovery  ?  Did  Martha  and  Mary  apply  to  Jesus 
with  all  the  arts  of  importunity  in  behalf  of  their  sick  and 
deceased  brother,  and  are  there  not  some  of  you  that  have 


OF    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  191 

dead  relations,  dear  friends  and  neighbours,  I  mean  dead 
in  the  worst  sense,  "dead  in  trespasses  and  sins?"  and 
will  you  not  apply  to  Jesus,  the  Lord  of  life,  and  follow 
him  with  your  importunate  cries,  till  he  come  and  call 
them  to  life  ?  Now  let  parents  turn  intercessors  for  their 
children,  children  for  their  parents,  friend  for  friend,  neigh- 
bour for  neighbour,  yea,  enemy  for  enemy.  Oh !  should 
we  all  take  this  method,  we  might  soon  expect,  to  see  the 
valley  of  dry  bones  full  of  living  souls,  an  exceeding  great 
army.  Ezek.  xxxvii.  10. 

In  praying  for  this  great  and  glorious  event,  you  do 
not  pray  for  an  impossibility.  Thousands  as  dead  as 
they,  have  obtained  a  joyful  resurrection  by  the  power  of 
God.  Here  in  my  text  you  have  an  instance  of  a  pro- 
miscuous crowd  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  that  had  lain  dead 
in  sin  together,  and  even  St.  Paul  among  them,  who  were 
recovered  to  life,  and  are  now  enjoying  an  immortal  life  in 
the  heavenly  regions ;  and,  blessed  be  God,  this  spiritual 
life  is  not  entirely  extinct  among  us.  Among  the  multi- 
tudes of  dead  souls  that  we  every  where  meet  with,  we 
find  here  and  there  a  soul  that  has  very  different  symp- 
toms :  once  indeed  it  was  like  the  rest ;  but  now,  while 
they  are  quite  senseless  of  divine  things,  and  have  no  vital 
aspirations  after  God,  this  soul  cannot  be  content  with  the 
richest  affluence  of  created  enjoyment;  it  pants  and 
breathes  after  God;  it  feeds  upon  his  word,  it  feels  an 
almighty  energy  in  eternal  things,  and  receives  vital  sensa- 
tions from  them.  It  discovers  life  and  vigour  in  devotion, 
and  serves  the  living  God  with  pleasure,  though  it  is  also 
subject  to  fits  of  languishment,  and  at  times  seems  just  ex- 
piring, and  to  lose  all  sensation.  And  whence  is  this  vast 
difference  1  Why  is  this  soul  so  different  from  what  it 
once  was,  and  what  thousands  around  still  are  ?  Why  can 
it  not,  like  them,  and  like  itself  formerly,  lie  dead  and 


192  THE  NATURE  AND  PROCESS 

senseless  in  sin,  without  any  vital  impressions  or  expe- 
riences from  God  or  divine  things  ?  The  reason  is,  the 
happy  reason,  my  brethren,  is,  this  is  a  living  soul :  "  God, 
out  of  the  great  love  wherewith  he  loved  it,  hath  quick- 
ened it  together  with  Christ,"  and  hence  it  is  alive  to  him. 

My  present  design  is  to  explain  the  nature  and  proper- 
ties of  this  divine  life,  and  to  show  you  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  usually  begun  in  the  soul :  I  shall  open  with 
the  consideration  of  the  last  particular. 

Here  you  must  observe,  that,  though  spiritual  life  is  in- 
stantaneously infused,  yet  God  prepares  the  soul  for  its 
reception  by  a  course  of  previous  operations.  He  spent 
six  days  in  the  creation  of  the  world,  though  he  might 
have  spoken  it  into  being  in  an  instant.  Thus  he  usually 
creates  the  soul  anew  after  a  gradual  process  of  prepara- 
tory actions.  In  forming  the  first  man,  he  first  created 
chaos  out  of  nothing,  then  he  digested  it  into  earth ;  on 
the  sixth  day  he  formed  and  organized  the  earth  into  a 
body,  with  all  its  endless  variety  of  members,  juices,  mus- 
cles, fibres,  veins,  and  arteries;  and  then,  after  this  pro- 
cess, he  inspired  it  with  a  living  soul ;  and  what  was  but 
a  lump  of  clay,  sprung  up  a  perfect  man.  Thus  also  the 
foetus  in  the  womb  is  for  some  months  in  formation  before 
the  soul,  or  the  principle  of  life,  is  infused.  In  like  man- 
ner the  Almighty  proceeds  in  quickening  us  with  spiritual 
life ;  we  all  pass  through  a  course  of  preparation,  though 
some  through  a  longer,  and  some  shorter.  And  as  one 
reason  why  the  great  Creator  took  up  so  much  time  in 
the  creation  of  the  world,  probably  was,  that  he  might 
allow  the  angels  time  for  leisurely  surveys  of  the  astonish- 
ing process,  so  he  may  advance  thus  gradually  in  the  new 
creation,  that  we  may  observe  the  various  steps  of  the 
operation,  and  make  proper  reflections  upon  it  in  future 
life.  My  present  design  is  to  trace  these  steps  to  their 


OF    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  193 

grand  result,  that  you  may  know  whether  ever  divine  grace 
has  carried  you  through  this  gracious  process. 

And  that  you  may  not  fall  into  needless  perplexities,  it 
may  be  necessary  for  me  to  premise  farther,  that  there  is 
a  great  variety  in  these  preparatory  operations,  and  in  the 
degrees  of  spiritual  life.  Indeed  the  difference  is  only  cir- 
cumstantial, for  the  work  is  substantially  the  same,  and 
spiritual  life  is  substantially  the  same  in  all ;  but  then,  in 
such  circumstances  as  the  length  of  time,  the  particular 
external  means,  the  degree  of  previous  terror,  and  of  sub- 
sequent joy  and  vitality,  &c.,  God  exercises  a  sovereign 
freedom,  and  shows  that  he  has  a  variety  of  ways  by 
which  to  accomplish  his  end;  and  it  is  no  matter  how  we 
obtain  it,  if  we  have  but  spiritual  life.  I  shall  therefore 
endeavour  to  confine  myself  to  the  substance  of  this  work, 
without  its  peculiarities,  in  different  subjects;  and,  when 
I  cannot  avoid  descending  to  particulars,  I  shall  endeavour 
so  to  diversify  them,  as  that  they  may  be  easily  adapted  to 
the  various  cases  of  different  Christians.  To  draw  their 
common  lineaments,  whereby  they  may  be  distinguished 
from  all  others,  is  sufficient  to  my  present  purpose: 
whereas,  to  draw  the  particular  lineaments,  or  peculiar 
features,  whereby  they  may  be  distinguished  from  one  an- 
other, is  a  very  difficult  task,  and  cannot  be  of  any  great 
service  to  what  I  have  now  in  design. 

I  have  only  one  thing  more  to  premise,  and  that  is,  that 
the  way  by  which  divine  grace  prepares  a  sinner  for  spir- 
itual life,  is  by  working  upon  all  the  principles  of  the 
rational  life,  and  exciting  him  to  exert  them  to  the  utmost 
to  obtain  it.  Here  it  is  proper  for  you  to  recollect  what 
I  observed  in  my  last  discourse,  that  even  a  sinner  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins,  is  alive  and  capable  of  action  in  other 
respects:  he  can  not  only  perform  the  actions  and  feel  the 
sensations  of  animal  life,  but  he  can  also  exercise  his  in- 

VOL.  II.— 26 


194  THE    NATURE    AND    PROCESS 

tellectual  powers  about  intellectual  objects,  and  even  about 
divine  things  :  he  is  capable  of  thinking  of  these,  and  of 
receiving  some  impressions  from  them :  he  is  also  capable 
of  attending  upon  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel,  and  per- 
forming the  external  duties  of  religion.  These  things  a 
sinner  may  do,  and  yet  be  dead  in  sin.  Indeed  he  will  not 
exercise  his  natural  powers  about  these  things  while  left  to 
himself:  he  has  the  power,  but  then  he  has  no  disposition 
to  employ  it :  he  is  indeed  capable  of  meditating  upon 
spiritual  things,  but  what  does  this  avail  when  he  will  not 
turn  his  mind  to  such  objects  1  or  if  he  does,  he  considers 
them  as  mere  speculations,  and  not  as  the  most  interesting 
and  important  realities.  How  few,  or  how  superficial  and 
unaffecting  are  a  sinner's  thoughts  of  them !  Heaven  and 
hell  are  objects  that  may  strike  the  passions,  and  raise  the 
joys  and  fears  of  a  natural  man,  but  in  general  he  is  little 
or  nothing  impressed  with  them.  He  is  capable  of  prayer, 
hearing,  and  using  the  means  of  grace;  but  I  believe,  if 
you  make  observations  upon  the  conduct  of  mankind,  that 
you  will  find  they  are  but  seldom  employed  in  these  duties, 
or  that  they  perform  them  in  such  a  careless  manner,  that 
that  they  have  no  tendency  to  answer  the  end  of  their  in- 
stitution. In  short,  the  more  I  know  of  mankind,  I  have 
the  lower  opinion  of  what  they  will  do  in  religion  when 
left  to  themselves.  They  have  a  natural  power,  and  we 
have  seen  all  possible  means  used  with  them  to  excite  them 
to  put  it  forth ;  but  alas !  all  is  in  vain,  ajid  nothing  will 
be  done  to  purpose  till  God  stir  them  up  to  exert  their 
natural  abilities ;  and  this  he  performs  as  a  preparative  for 
spiritual  life.  He  brings  the  sinner  to  exert  all  his  active 
powers  in  seeking  this  divine  principle :  nature  does  her 
utmost,  and  all  outward  means  are  tried  before  a  super- 
natural principle  is  implanted. 

The  evangelist  John  has  given  us  the  history  of  the  re- 


OF    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  195 

surrection  of  the  dead  body  of  Lazarus  after  it  had  been 
four  days  in  the  grave;  and  I  would  now  give  you  the 
history  of  a  more  glorious  resurrection,  the  resurrection  of 
a  soul  that  had  lain  dead  for  months  and  years,  yet  is  at 
last  quickened  by  the  same  almighty  power  with  a  divine 
and  immortal  life. 

Should  I  exemplify  it  by  a  particular  instance,  I  might 
fix  upon  this  or  that  person  in  this  assembly,  and  remind 
you,  and  inform  others,  of  the  process  of  this  work  in  your 
souls.  And  oh !  how  happy  are  such  of  you,  that  you 
may  be  produced  as  instances  in  this  case ! 

You  lay  for  ten,  twenty,  thirty  years,  or  more,  dead  in 
traspasses  and  sins ;  you  did  not  breathe  and  pant  like  a 
living  soul  after  God  and  holiness ;  you  had  little  more 
sense  of  the  burden  of  sin  than  a  corpse  of  the  pressure 
of  a  mountain  ;  you  had  no  appetite  for  the  living  bread 
that  came  down  from  heaven ;  the  vital  pulse  of  sacred 
passions  did  not  beat  in  your  hearts  towards  God  and 
divine  things,  but  you  lay  putrefying  in  sin ;  filthy  lusts 
preyed  upon  you  like  worms  on  the  bodies  of  the  dead ; 
you  spread  the  contagion  of  sin  around  you  by  your  con- 
versation and  example,  like  the  stench  and  corrupt  effluvia 
of  a  rotten  carcass ;  you  were  odious  and  abominable  to 
God,  fit  to  be  shut  up  in  the  infernal  pit,  out  of  his  sight : 
and  you  were  objects  of  horror  and  lamentation  to  all  that 
knew  and  daily  considered  your  case,  your  deplorable 
case.  During  this  time  many  quickening  applications 
were  made  to  you ;  you  had  friends  that  used  all  means  to 
bring  you  to  life  again ;  but  alas !  all  in  vain ;  conscience 
proved  your  friend,  and  pierced  and  chafed  you,  to  bring 
you  to  some  feeling,  but  you  remained  still  senseless,  or 
the  symptoms  of  life  soon  vanished.  God  did  not  cast 
you  away  as  irrecoverably  dead,  but  stirred  and  agitated 
you  within,  and  struggled  long  with  the  principles  of 


196  THE  NATURE  AND  PROCESS 

death  to  subdue  them  :  and  if  it  was  your  happy  lot  to  live 
under  a  faithful  ministry,  the  living  oracles  that  contain  the 
seeds  of  the  divine  life  were  applied  to  you  with  care  and 
solicitude.  The  terrors  of  t}ie  Lord  were  thundered  in 
your  ears  to  awaken  you.  The  experiment  of  a  Saviour's 
dying  love,  and  the  rich  grace  of  the  gospel,  were  repeat- 
edly tried  upon  you:  now  you  were  carried  within  hear- 
ing of  the  heavenly  music,  and  within  sight  of  the  glories 
of  Paradise,  to  try  if  these  would  charm  you;  now  you 
were,  as  it  were,  held  over  the  flames  of  hell,  that  they 
might  by  their  pungent  pains  scorch  and  startle  you  into 
life.  Providence  also  concurred  with  these  applications, 
and  tried  to  recover  you  by  mercies  and  judgments,  sick- 
ness and  health,  losses  and  possessions,  disappointments 
and  successes,  threatenings  and  deliverances.  If  it  was 
your  unhappy  lot  to  lie  among  dead  souls  like  yourself, 
you  had  indeed  but  little  pity  from  them,  nay,  they  and 
Satan  were  plying  you  with  their  opiates  and  poison  to 
confirm  the  deadly  sleep.  And  oh  !  how  astonishing  is  it 
that  you  should  be  quickened  in  a  charnel-house,  in  the 
mansions  of  the  dead,  with  dead  souls  lying  all  around  you ! 
But  if  it  was  your  happiness  to  be  in  the  society  of  the 
living,  they  pitied  you,  they  stirred  and  agitated  you  with 
their  warnings  and  persuasions,  they,  like  Martha  and 
Mary  in  behalf  of  their  deceased  brother,  went  to  Jesus 
with  their  cries  and  importunities,  "  Lord,  my  child,  my 
parent,  my  servant,  my  neighbour  is  dead,  oh  come  and 
restore  him  to  life !  Lord,  if  thou  hadst  been  here,  he 
would  not  have  died ;  but  even  now  I  know  it  is  not  too 
late  for  thee  to  raise  him."  Thus,  when  one  is  dead  in 
our  heavenly  Father's  family,  the  whole  house  should  be 
alarmed,  and  all  the  domestics  be  busy  in  trying  to  bring 
him  to  life  again.  But,  oh  !  reflect  with  shame  and  sor- 
row how  long  all  these  quickening  applications  were  in 


OF    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  197 

vain;  you  still  lay  in  a  dead  sleep,  or,  if  at  times  you 
seemed  to  move,  and  gave  us  hopes  you  were  coming  to 
life  again,  you  soon  relapsed,  and  grew  as  senseless  as 
ever.  And  alas  !  are  there  not  some  of  you  in  this  con- 
dition to  this  very  moment  ?  Oh  deplorable  sight !  May 
the  hour  come,  and  oh  that  this  may  be  the  hour,  in 
which  such  dead  souls  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
God,  and  live.  John  v.  25. 

But  as  to  such  of  you  in  whom  I  would  exemplify  this 
history  of  a  spiritual  resurrection,  when  your  case  was  thus 
deplorable,  and  seemingly  helpless,  the  happy  hour,  the 
time  of  love  came,  when  you  must  live.  When  all  these 
applications  had  been  unsuccessful,  the  all-quickening  Spirit 
of  God  had  determined  to  exert  more  of  his  energy,  and 
work  more  effectually  upon  you.  Perhaps  a  verse  in  your 
Bible,  a  sentence  in  a  sermon,  an  alarming  Providence,  the 
conversation  of  a  pious  friend,  or  something  that  unexpect- 
edly occurred  to  your  own  thoughts,  first  struck  your 
minds  with  unusual  force ;  you  found  you  could  not  harden 
yourselves  against  it  as  you  were  wont  to  do;  it  was 
attended  with  a  power  you  never  before  had  felt,  and  which 
you  could  not  resist;  this  made  you  thoughtful  and  pensive, 
and  turned  your  minds  to  objects  that  you  were  wont  to 
neglect;  this  made  you  stand  and  pause,  and  think  of  the 
state  of  your  neglected  souls;  you  began  to  fear  matters 
were  wrong  with  you ;  "  What  will  become  of  me,  when  I 
leave  this  world  1  Where  shall  I  reside  for  ever  1  Am  I 
prepared  for  the  eternal  world  ?  How  have  I  spent  my 
life?"  These,  and  the  like  inquiries,  put  you  to  a  stand, 
and  you  could  not  pass  over  them  so  superficially  as  you 
were  wont  to  do ;  your  sins  now  appeared  to  you  in  a  new 
light;  you  were  shocked  and  surprised  at  their  malignant 
nature,  their  number,  their  aggravations,  and  their  dread- 
ful consequences.  The  great  God,  whom  you  were  wont 


198  THE  NATURE  AND  PROCESS 

to  neglect,  appeared  to  you  as  a  Being  that  demanded  your 
regard ;  you  saw  he  was  indeed  a  venerable,  awful,  ma- 
jestic Being,  with  whom  you  had  the  most  important  con- 
cern :  in  short,  you  saw  that  such  a  life  as  you  had  led 
would  never  bring  you  to  heaven :  you  saw  you  must 
make  religion  more  your  business  than  you  had  ever  done, 
and  hereupon  you  altered  your  former  course :  you  broke 
off  from  several  of  your  vices,  you  deserted  your  extrava- 
gant company,  and  you  began  to  frequent  the  throne  of 
grace,  to  study  religion,  and  to  attend  upon  its  institutions : 
and  this  you  did  with  some  degree  of  earnestness  and 
solicitude. 

When  you  were  thus  reformed,  you  began  to  flatter 
yourself  that  you  had  escaped  out  of  your  dangerous  con- 
dition, and  secured  the  divine  favour :  now  you  began  to 
view  yourselves  with  secret  self-applause  as  true  Christians ; 
but  all  this  time  the  reformation  was  only  outward,  and 
there  was  no  new  principle  of  a  divine  supernatural  life 
implanted  in  your  hearts :  you  had  not  the  generous  pas- 
sions and  sensations  of  living  souls  towards  God,  but  acted 
entirely  from  natural,  selfish  principles:  you  had  no  clear 
heart-affecting  views  of  the  intrinsic  evil,  and  odious  nature 
of  sin,  considered  in  itself,  nor  of  the  entire  universal  cor- 
ruption of  your  nature,  and  the  necessity  not  only  of  adorn- 
ing your  outer  man  by  an  external  reformation,  but  of  an 
inward  change  of  heart  by  the  almighty  power  of  God : 
you  were  not  deeply  sensible  of  the  extent  and  spirituality 
of  the  divine  law,  nor  of  the  infinite  purity  and  inexorable 
justice  of  the  Deity:  you  had  no  love  for  religion  and 
virtue  for  their  own  sakes,  but  only  on  account  of  their 
happy  consequences.  Indeed  your  love  of  novelty  and  a 
regard  to  your  own  happiness  might  so  work  upon  you, 
for  a  time,  that  you  might  have  very  raised  and  delightful 
passions  in  religious  duties;  but  all  your  religion  at  that 


OF    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  199 

time  was  a  mere  system  of  selfishness,  and  you  had  no 
generous  disinterested  delight  in  holiness  for  its  own  excel- 
lency, nor  did  you  heartily  relish  the  strictness  of  pure, 
living  religion :  you  were  also  under  the  government  of  a 
self-righteous  spirit:  your  own  good  works  were  the 
ground  of  your  hopes,  and  you  had  no  relish  for  the  mor- 
tifying doctrine  of  salvation  through  the  mere  mercy  of 
God  and  the  righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ:  though  your 
education  taught  you  to  acknowledge  Christ  as  the  only 
Saviour,  and  ascribe  all  your  hopes  to  his  death,  yet  in 
reality  he  was  of  very  little  importance  in  your  religion ;  he 
had  but  little  place  in  your  heart  and  affections,  even  when 
you  urged  his  name  as  your  only  plea  at  the  throne  of 
grace :  in  short  you  had  not  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  nor 
any  spiritual  life  within  you.  And  this  is  all  the  religion 
with  which  multitudes  are  contented :  with  this  they  obtain 
a  name  that  they  live;  but  in  ;the  sight  of  God,  and  in 
reality,  they  are  dead ;  and  had  you  been  suffered  to  rest 
here,  according  to  your  own  desire,  you  would  have  been 
dead  still. 

But  God,  who  is  rich  (oh  how  inconceivably  rich!)  in 
mercy,  for  the  great  love  wherewith  he  loved  you,  resolved 
to  carry  on  his  works  in  you ;  and  therefore,  while  you 
were  flattering  yourselves,  and  elated  with  a  proud  conceit 
of  a  happy  change  in  your  condition,  he  surprised  you 
with  a  very  different  view  of  your  case;  he  opened  your 
eyes  farther,  and  then  you  saw,  you  felt  those  things  of 
which,  till  then,  you  had  but  little  sense  or  apprehension ; 
such  as  the  corruption  of  your  hearts,  the  awful  strictness 
of  the  divine  law,  your  utter  inability  to  yield  perfect  obe- 
dience, and  the  necessity  of  an  inward  change  of  the  incli- 
nations and  relishes  of  your  soul.  These,  and  a  great 
many  other  things  of  a  like  nature,  broke  in  upon  your 
minds  with  striking  evidence  and  a  kind  of  almighty  energy; 


200  THE  NATURE  AND  PROCESS 

and  now  you  saw  you  were  still  "  dead  in  sin,"  weak,  indis- 
posed, averse  towards  spiritual  things,  and  "  dead  in  law," 
condemned  to  everlasting  death  and  misery  by  its  righteous 
sentence :  now  you  set  about  the  duties  of  religion  with 
more  earnestness  than  ever;  now  you  prayed,  you  heard, 
and  used  the  other  means  of  grace  as  for  your  life,  for  you 
saw  that  your  eternal  life  was  indeed  at  stake ;  and  now, 
when  you  put  the  matter  to  a  thorough  trial,  you  were 
more  sensible  than  ever  of  your  own  weakness,  and  the 
difficulties  in  your  way.  "  Oh !  who  would  have  thought 
my  heart  had  been  so  depraved  that  it  should  thus  fly  off 
from  God,  and  struggle,  and  reluctate  against  returning  to 
him  ?"  Such  was  then  your  language.  Alas !  you  found 
yourselves  quite  helpless,  and  all  your  efforts  feeble  and 
ineffectual:  then  you  perceived  yourselves  really  dead  in 
sin,  and  that  you  must  continue  so  to  all  eternity,  unless 
quickened  by  a  power  infinitely  superior  to  your  own; 
not  that  you  lay  slothful  and  inactive  at  this  time;  no, 
never  did  you  exert  yourselves  so  vigorously  in  all 
your  life,  never  did  you  besiege  the  throne  of  grace 
with  such  earnest  importunity,  never  did  you  hear  and 
read  with  such  eager  attention,  or  make  such  a  vigorous 
resistance  against  sin  and  temptation :  all  your  natural 
powers  were  exerted  to  the  highest  pitch,  for  now  you 
saw  your  case  required  it :  but  you  found  all  your  most 
vigourous  endeavours  insufficient,  and  you  were  sensible 
that,  without  the  assistance  of  a  superior  power,  the  work 
of  religion  could  never  be  effected. 

Now  you  were  reduced  very  low  indeed.  While  you 
imagined  you  could  render  yourselves  safe  by  a  reformation 
in  your  own  power,  you  were  not  much  alarmed  at  your 
condition,  though  you  saw  it  bad.  But  oh !  to  feel  your- 
selves dead  in  sin,  and  that  you  cannot  help  yourselves;  to 
see  yourselves  in  a  state  of  condemnation,  liable  to  execu- 


OF    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  201 

tion  every  moment,  and  yet  to  find  all  your  own  endea- 
vours utterly  insufficient  to  relieve  you ;  to  be  obliged,  after 
all  you  had  done,  to  lie  at  mercy,  and  confess  that  you  were 
as  deserving  of  everlasting  punishment  as  ever  the  most 
notorious  criminal  was  of  the  stroke  of  public  justice ;  this 
was  a  state  of  extreme  dejection,  terror,  and  anxiety  in- 
deed. The  proud,  self-confident  creature  was  never  tho- 
roughly mortified  and  humbled  till  now,  when  he  is 
slain  by  the  law,  and  entirely  cut  off  from  all  hopes  from 
himself. 

And  now,  finding  you  could  not  save  yourselves,  you 
began  to  cast  about  you,  and  look  out  for  another  to  save 
you:  now  you  were  more  sensible  than  ever  of  the  abso- 
lute need  of  Jesus ;  and  you  cried  and  reached  after  him, 
and  stirred  up  yourselves  to  take  hold  of  him.  The  gospel 
brought  the  free  offer  of  him  to  your  ears,  and  you  would 
fain  have  accepted  of  him ;  but  here  new  difficulties  arose. 
Alas!  you  did  not  think  yourselves  good  enough  to  accept 
of  him,  and  hence  you  took  a  great  deal  of  fruitless  pains 
to  make  yourselves  better:  you  also  found  your  hearts 
strangely  averse  to  the  gospel-method  of  salvation,  and, 
though  a  sense  of  your  necessity  made  you  try  to  work  up 
yourselves  to  an  approbation  of  it,  yet  you  could  not  affec- 
tionately acquiesce  in  it,  and  cordially  relish  it. 

And  now,  how  melancholy  was  your  situation !  You 
were  "  shut  up  unto  the  faith ;"  Gal.  iii.  23  ;  there  was  no 
other  possible  way  of  escape,  and  yet,  alas !  you  could  not 
take  this  way :  now  you  were  ready  to  cry,  "  I  am  cut  off 
my  strength  and  my  hope  are  perished  from  the  Lord;" 
but,  blessed  be  God,  he  did  not  leave  you  in  this  condition. 
Man's  extremity  of  distress  is  God's  opportunity  for  relief 
and  salvation ;  and  so  you  found  it. 

Now  the  process  of  preparatory  operations  is  just  come 
to  a  result.  Now  it  is  time  for  God  to  work,  for  nature  has 

VOL.  I.— 26 


202  THE  NATURE  AND  PROCESS 

done  her  utmost,  and  has  been  found  utterly  insufficient ; 
now  it  is  proper  a  divine,  supernatural  principle  should  be 
infused,  for  all  the  principles  of  nature  have  failed,  and  the 
proud  sinner  is  obliged  to  own  it,  and  stand  still,  and  see 
the  salvation  of  God.  In  this  situation  you  wanted  nothing 
but  such  a  divine  principle  to  make  you  living  Christians 
indeed.  These  preparatives  were  like  the  taking  away 
the  stone  from  the  sepulchre  of  Lazarus,  which  was  a  pre- 
lude of  that  almighty  voice  which  called  him  from  the 
dead.  Now  you  appear  to  me  like  the  dry  bones  in  Eze- 
kiel's  vision  in  one  stage  of  the  operation.  After  there 
had  been  a  noise,  and  a  shaking  among  them,  and  the 
bones  had  come  together,  bone  to  his  bone ;  /  beheld,  says 
he,  and  lo,  the  sinews  and  the  flesh  came  up  upon  them, 
and  the  skin  covered  them  above  ;  but  there  was  no  breath 
in  them;  Ezek.  xxxvii.  8;  this  was  all  that  was  wanting 
to  making  them  living  men.  In  like  manner  you,  at  this 
time,  had  the  external  appearance  of  Christians,  but  you 
had  no  divine  supernatural  life  in  you ;  you  were  but  the 
fair  carcasses  of  Christians ;  your  religion  had  a  body  com- 
pletely formed,  but  it  had  no  soul  in  it;  and  had  the  holy 
Spirit  now  given  over  his  work,  you  would  have  continued 
dead  still. 

But  now  the  important  crisis  is  come,  when  he  who 
stood  over  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  and  pronounced  the  life- 
restoring  mandate,  Lazarus,  come  forth !  when  he  who 
breathed  into  Adam  the  breath  of  life,  and  made  him  a 
living  soul;  I  say,  now  the  crisis  is  come,  when  he  will  im- 
plant the  principles  of  life  in  your  souls;  suddenly  you  feel 
the  amazing  change,  and  find  you  are  acting  from  princi- 
ples entirely  new  to  you ;  for  now  your  hearts  that  were 
wont  to  reluctate,  and  start  back  from  God,  rise  to  him 
with  the  strongest  aspirations:  now  the  way  of  salvation 
through  Christ,  which  you  could  never  relish  before,  ap- 


OF    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  203 

pears  all  amiable  and  glorious,  .and  captivates  your  whole 
souls.  Holiness  has  lovely  and  powerful  charms,  which 
captivate  you  to  the  most  willing  obedience,  notwithstand- 
ing your  former  disgust  to  it;  and  though  once  you  were 
enamoured  with  sin,  and  disliked  it  only  because  you  could 
not  indulge  it  with  impunity,  it  now  appears  to  you  a 
mere  mass  of  corruption  and  deformity,  an  abominable 
thing,  which  you  hate  above  all  other  things  on  earth  or 
in  hell.  At  this  juncture  you  were  animated  with  a  new 
life  in  every  faculty  of  your  souls,  and  hereupon  you  felt 
the  instincts,  the  appetites,  the  sympathies  and  antipathies 
of  a  new  life,  a  divine  life,  justly  styled  by  the  apostle  the 
life  of  God;  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man.  The  pulse  of 
sacred  passions  began  to  beat  towards  spirtual  objects ;  the 
vital  warmth  of  love  spread  itself  through  your  whole 
frame;  you  breathed  out  your  desires  and  prayers  before 
God ;  like  a  new-born  infant  you  began  to  cry  after  him, 
and  at  times  you  have  learned  to  lisp  his  name  with  filial 
endearment,  and  cry  Abba  Father ;  you  hungered  and 
thirsted  after  righteousness,  and  as  every  kind  of  life  must 
have  its  proper  nourishment,  so  your  spiritual  life  fed  upon 
Christ,  the  living  bread,  and  the  sincere  milk  of  his  word. 
You  also  felt  a  new  set  of  sensations;  divine  things  now 
made  deep  and  tender  impressions  upon  you;  the  great 
realities  of  religion  and  eternity  now  affected  you  in  a 
manner  unknown  before;  you  likewise  found  your  souls 
actuated  with  life  and  vigour  in  the  service  of  God,  and  in 
the  duties  you  owed  to  mankind.  This  strange  alteration 
no  doubt  filled  you  with  surprise  and  amazement,  some- 
thing like  that  of  Adam  when  he  found  himself  start  into 
life  out  of  his  eternal  non-existence.  With  these  new 
sensations  everything  appeared  to  you  in  a  quite  different 
light,  and  you  could  not  but  wonder  that  you  had  never 
perceived  them  in  that  manner  before. 


204  THE  NATURE  AND  PROCESS 

Thus,  my  dear  brethren,  when  you  were  even  dead  in 
sin,  God  quickened  you  together  with  Christ.  It  is  true, 
the  principle  of  life  might  be  very  weak  at  first,  like  the 
life  of  a  new-born  infant,  or  a  foetus  just  animated  in  the 
womb;  nay,  it  may  be  but  very  weak  still,  and  at  times 
may  languish,  and  seem  just  expiring  in  the  agonies  of 
death;  but,  blessed  be  the  quickening  Spirit  of  Christ, 
since  the  happy  hour  of  your  resurrection  you  have  never 
been,  and  you  never  will  be  to  all  eternity,  what  you  once 
were,  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins."  Should  I  give  you 
your  own  history  since  that  time,  it  would  be  to  this  pur- 
pose, and  you  will  discern  many  symptoms  of  life  in  it. 
You  have  often  known  what  sickness  of  soul  is,  as  well  as 
of  body ;  and  sometimes  it  has  risen  to  such  a  height  as  to 
endanger  your  spiritual  life.  The  seeds  of  sin,  that  still 
lurk  in  your  constitution,  like  the  principles  of  death,  or  a 
deadly  poison  circulating  through  your  veins,  have  often 
struggled  for  the  mastery,  and  cast  you  into  languishing  or 
violent  disorders:  then  was  the  divine  life  oppressed,  and 
you  could  not  freely  draw  the  breath  of  prayer  and  pious 
desires;  you  lost  the  appetite  for  the  word  of  God,  and 
what  you  received  did  not  digest  well  and  turn  to  kindly 
nourishment ;  the  pulse  of  sacred  passions  beat  faint  and 
irregular,  the  vital  heat  decayed,  and  you  felt  a  death-like 
cold  creeping  upon  you  and  benumbing  you.  Sometimes 
you  have  been  afflicted,  perhaps,  with  convulsions  of 
violent  and  outrageous  passions,  with  the  dropsy  of  in- 
satiable desires  after  things  below,  with  the  lethargy  of 
carnal  security,  or  the  fever  of  lust:  at  other  times  you 
have  felt  an  universal  disorder  through  your  whole  frame, 
and  you  hardly  knew  what  ailed  you,  only  you  were  sure 
your  souls  were  not  well;  but  perhaps  your  most  common 
disorder  that  seizes  you  is  a  kind  of  consumption,  a  low- 
ness  of  spirits,  a  languor  and  weakness,  the  want  of  appe- 


OF    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  205 

tite  for  your  spiritual  food,  or  perhaps  a  nausea  and  disgust 
towards  it;  you  also  live  in  a  country  very  unwholesome 
to  living  souls;  you  dwell  among  the  dead,  and  catch  con- 
tagion from  the  conversation  of  those  around  you,  and  this 
heightens  the  disorder:   and  further,  that  old  serpent  the 
devil  labours  to  infect  you  with  his  deadly  poison,  and  in- 
crease the  peccant  humours  by  his  temptations :   at  such 
times  you  can  hardly  feel  any  workings  of  spiritual  life  in 
you,  and  you  fear  you  are  entirely  dead;  but  examine 
strictly,  and  you  will  discover  some  vital  symptoms  even 
in  this  bad  habit  of  soul;  for  does  not  your  new  nature 
exert  itself  to  work  off  the  disorder?     Are  not  your  spirits 
in  a  ferment,  and  do  you  not  feel  yourselves  in  exquisite 
pain,  or  at  least  greatly  uneasy?     Give  all  the  world  to  a 
sick  man,  and  he  despises  it  all :  "  Oh,  give  me  my  health," 
says  he,  "  or  you  give  me  nothing."     So  it  is  with  you ; 
nothing  can  content  you  while  your  souls  are  thus  out  of 
order.     Do  you  not  long  for  their  recovery,  that  you  may 
go  about  your  business  again;  I  mean  that  you  may  en- 
gage in  the  service  of  God  with  all  the  vigour  of  health  ? 
and  do  you  not  apply  to  Christ  as  your  only  physician  in 
this  condition  ?     And  oh !    what  an  healing  balm  is  his 
blood !  what  a  reviving  cordial  is  his  love !  and  how  kindly 
does  his  Spirit  purge  off  the  corrupt  humours,  and  subdue 
the   principles   of  sin   and  death!     Has   not  experience 
taught  you  the  meaning  of  the  apostle,  when  he  says, 
Christ  is  our  life :  and  I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth 
in  me,  Gal.  ii.  20.     Do  you  not  perceive  that  Christ  is 
your  vital  head,  and  that  you  revive  or  languish  just  as  he 
communicates  or  withholds  his  influence  ?     And  have  you 
not  been  taught  in  the  same  way  what  is  the  meaning  of 
that  expression  so  often  repeated,   The  just  shall  live  by 
faith  ?    Hab.  ii.  4.     Do  you  not  find  that  faith  is,  as  it 
were,  the   grand  artery  by  which  you  derive  life  from 


206  THE    NATURE    AND    PROCESS 

Christ,  and  by  which  it  is  circulated  through  your  whole 
frame;  and  that  when  faith  languishes,  then  you  weaken, 
pine  away,  and  perhaps  fall  into  a  swoon,  as  though  you 
were  quite  dead?  Are  you  not  careful  of  the  health  of 
your  souls  ?  You  endeavour  to  keep  them  warm  with  the 
love  of  God;  you  shun  those  sickly  regions  as  far  as  you 
can,  where  the  example  and  conversation  of  the  wicked 
spread  their  deadly  infection,  and  you  love  to  dwell  among 
living  souls,  and  breathe  in  their  wholesome  air.  Upon 
the  whole,  it  is  evident,  notwithstanding  your  frequent  in- 
dispositions, you  have  some  life  within  you;  life  takes  oc- 
casion to  show  itself  even  from  your  disorders.  It  is  a 
plain  symptom  of  it,  that  you  have  something  within  you, 
that  makes  such  a  vigorous  resistance  against  the  princi- 
ples of  sin  and  death,  and  throws  your  whole  frame  into  a 
ferment,  till  it  has  wrought  off  the  distemper.  In  short, 
you  have  the  sensations,  the  sympathies  and  antipathies, 
the  pleasures  and  pains  of  living  souls. 

And  is  it  so  indeed?  Then  from  this  moment  begin  to 
rejoice  and  bless  the  Lord,  who  raised  you  to  spiritual  life. 
Oh,  let  the  hearts  he  has  quickened  beat  with  his  love ;  let 
the  lips  he  has  opened,  when  quivering  in  death,  speak  his 
praise,  and  devote  that  life  to  him  which  he  has  given  you, 
and  which  he  still  supports! 

Consider  what  a  divine  and  noble  kind  of  life  he  has 
given  you.  It  is  a  capacity  and  aptitude  for  the  most  ex- 
alted and  divine  services  and  enjoyments.  Now  you  have 
a  relish  for  the  Supreme  Good  as  your  happiness,  the  only 
proper  food  for  your  immortal  souls,  and  he  will  not  suffer 
you  to  hunger  and  thirst  in  vain,  but  will  satisfy  the  ap- 
petites he  has  implanted  in  your  nature.  You  have  some 
spirit  and  life  in  his  service,  and  are  not  like  the  dead  souls 
around  you,  that  are  all  alive  toward  other  objects,  but  abso- 
lutely dead  towards  him:  you  have  also  noble  and  exalted 


OF    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  207 

sensations ;  you  are  capable  of  a  set  of  pleasures  of  a  more 
refined  and  sublime  nature  than  what  are  relished  by 
grovelling  sinners.  From  your  inmost  souls  you  detest 
and  nauseate  whatever  is  mean,  base,  and  abominable,  and 
you  can  feast  on  what  is  pure,  amiable,  excellent,  and 
worthy  of  your  love.  Your  vitiated  taste  for  trash  and 
poison  is  cured,  and  you  feed  upon  heavenly  bread,  upon 
food  agreeable  to  the  constitution  of  your  spiritual  nature  j 
and  hence  you  may  infer  your  meetness  for  the  heavenly 
world,  that  region  of  perfect  vitality.  You  have  a  disposi- 
tion for  its  enjoyments  and  services,  and  this  is  the  grand 
preparative.  God  will  not  encumber  the  heaven  of  his  glory 
with  dead  souls,  nor  infect  the  pure  salubrious  air  of 
paradise  with  the  poison  of  their  corruption :  but  the  ever- 
lasting doors  are  always  open  for  living  souls,  and  not  one 
of  them  shall  ever  be  excluded;  nay,  the  life  of  heaven  is 
already  within  you;  the  life  that  reigns  with  immortal 
health  and  vigour  above,  is  the  very  same  with  that  which 
works  in  your  breasts;  only  there  it  is  arrived  to  maturity 
and  perfection,  and  here  it  is  in  its  rudiments  and  weak- 
ness. Your  animal  life,  which  was  hardly  perceivable  in 
the  womb,  was  the  very  same  with  that  which  now  pos- 
sesses you,  only  now  it  is  come  to  perfection.  Thus  you 
are  now  angels  in  embryo,  the  foetus  (might  I  be  allowed 
the  expression)  of  glorified  immortals;  and  when  you  are 
born  out  of  the  womb  of  time  into  the  eternal  world,  this 
feeble  spark  of  spiritual  life  will  kindle  and  blaze,  and  ren- 
der you  as  active  and  vigorous  as  "  the  rapt  seraph  that 
adores  and  burns."  Then  you  will  fear  no  more  weak- 
ness, no  more  languors,  no  more  qualms  of  indisposition ; 
the  poison  of  temptation,  and  the  contagion  of  bad  example 
cannot  reach  you  there;  and  the  inward  seeds  of  sickness 
and  death  will  be  purged  entirely  out  of  your  soul :  you 
will  be  got  quite  out  of  the  sickly  country,  and  breathe  a 


208  THE    NATURE    AND    PROCESS 

pure  reviving  air,  the  natural  element  of  your  souls. 
There  you  will  find  the  fountain,  yea,  whole  rivers  of  the 
waters  of  life,  of  which  you  will  drink  in  large  draughts 
for  ever  and  ever,  and  which  will  inspire  you  with  im- 
mortal life  and  vigour.  Oh,  how  happy  are  you  in  this 
single  gift  of  spiritual  life !  this  is  a  life  that  cannot  perish, 
even  in  the  ruins  of  the  world.  What  though  you  must 
ere  long  yield  your  mortal  bodies  and  animal  life  to  death 
and  rottenness  ?  your  most  important  life  is  immortal,  and 
subject  to  no  such  dissolution;  and  therefore  be  courageous 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  bid  defiance  to  all  the 
calamities  of  life,  and  all  the  terrors  of  death ;  for  your  life 
is  hid  with  Christ  in  God ;  and  when  Christ,  who  is  our 
life,  shall  appear,  then  shall  ye  also  appear  with  him  in 
glory.  Col.  iii.  3,  4. 

I  would  willingly  go  on  in  this  strain,  and  leave  the 
pulpit  with  a  relish  of  these  delightful  truths  upon  my 
spirit ;  but,  alas !  I  must  turn  my  address  to  another  set 
of  persons  in  this  assembly;  but  "where  is  the  Lord  God 
of  Elijah,"  who  restored  the  Shunamite's  son  to  life  by 
means  of  that  prophet?  I  am  going  to  call  to  the  dead, 
and  I  know  they  will  not  hear,  unless  he  attend  my  feeble 
voice  with  his  almighty  power.  I  would  pray  over  you 
like  Elijah  over  the  dead  child,  Oh  LORD  my  God,  I  pray 
thee,  let  this  sinner's  life  come  into  him  again.  1  Kings 
xvii.  21.  Are  not  the  living  and  the  dead  promiscuously 
blended  in  this  assembly  ?  Here  is  a  dead  soul,  there  an- 
other, and  there  another  all  over  the  house ;  and  here  and 
there  a  few  living  souls  thinly  scattered  among  them. 
Have  you  ever  been  carried  through  such  a  preparatory 
process  as  I  have  described  ?  or  if  you  are  uncertain  about 
this,  as  some  may  be  who  are  animated  with  spiritual  life, 
inquire,  have  you  the  feelings,  the  appetites  and  aversions, 
the  pleasing  and  the  painful  sensations  of  living  souls  ? 


OF    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  209 

Methiriks  conscience  breaks  its,  silence  in  some  of  you, 
whether  you  will  or  not,  and  cries,  "  Oh  no ;  there  is  not 
a  spark  of  life  in  this  breast." 

Well,  my  poor  deceased  friends,  (for  so  I  may  call  you,) 
I  hope  you  will  seriously  attend  to  what  I  am  going  seri- 
ously to  say  to  you.  I  have  no  bad  design  upon  you,  but 
only  to  restore  you  to  life.  And  though  your  case  is 
really  discouraging,  yet  I  hope  it  is  not  quite  desperate. 
The  principles  of  nature,  reason,  self-love,  joy,  and  fear, 
are  still  alive  in  you,  and  you  are  capable  of  some  appli- 
cation to  divine  things.  And,  as  I  told  you,  it  is  upon  the 
principles  of  nature  that  God  is  wont  to  work,  to  prepare 
the  soul  for  the  infusion  of  a  supernatural  life.  And 
these  I  would  now  work  upon,  in  hopes  you  are  not 
proof  against  considerations  of  the  greatest  weight  and 
energy;  I  earnestly  beg  you  would  lay  to  heart  such  things 
as  these. 

Can  you  content  yourselves  with  an  animal  life,  the  life 
of  beasts,  with  that  superfluity,  reason,  just  to  render  you 
a  more  ingenious  and  self-tormenting  kind  of  brutes ;  more 
artful  in  gratifying  your  sordid  appetites,  and  yet  still  un- 
easy for  want  of  an  unknown  something ;  a  care  that  the 
brutal  world,  being  destitute  of  reason,  are  unmolested 
with  ?  Oh !  have  you  no  ambition  to  be  animated  with  a 
divine  immortal  life,  the  life  of  God  ? 

Can  you  be  contented  with  a  mere  temporal  life,  when 
your  souls  must  exist  for  ever  ?  That  infinite  world  be- 
yond the  grave  is  replenished  with  nothing  but  the  terrors 
of  death  to  you,  if  you  are  destitute  of  spiritual  life.  And 
oh !  can  you  bear  the  thought  of  residing  among  its  grim 
and  ghastly  terrors  for  ever  ? 

Are  you  contented  to  be  cut  off  from  God,  as  a  morti- 
fied member  from  the  body,  and  to  be  banished  for  ever 
from  all  the  joys  of  his  presence  ?  You  cannot  be  ad- 

VOL.  I.— 27. 


210         THE  NATURE  AND  PROCESS  OF  SPIRITUAL  LIFE. 

mitted  to  heaven  without  spiritual  life.  Hell  is  the  sepul- 
chre for  dead  souls,  and  thither  you  must  be  sent,  if  you 
still  continue  dead.  And  does  not  this  thought  affect  vou  ? 

*/ 

Consider,  also,  now  is  the  only  time  in  which  you  can 
be  restored  to  life.  And  oh !  will  you  let  it  pass  by  with- 
out improvement  ? 

Shall  all  the  means  that  have  been  used  for  your  revival 
be  in  vain  ?  Or  the  strivings  of  the  Spirit,  the  alarms  of 
your  own  consciences,  the  blessings  and  chastisements  of 
Providence,  the  persuasions,  tears,  and  lamentations  of 
your  living  friends ;  Oh !  shall  all  these  be  in  vain  ?  Can 
you  bear  the  thought  ?  Surely,  no.  Therefore,  oh  heave 
and  struggle  to  burst  the  chains  of  death  !  Cry  mightily 
to  God  to  quicken  you.  Use  all  the  means  of  vivification, 
and  avoid  every  deadly  and  contagious  thing. 

I  know  not,  my  brethren,  how  this  thought  will  affect 
us  at  parting  to-day,  that  we  have  left  behind  us  many  a 
dead  soul.  But  suppose  we  should  leave  as  many  bodies 
here  behind  us  as  there  are  dead  souls  among  us;  suppose 
every  sinner  destitute  of  spiritual  life  should  now  be  struck 
dead  before  us,  oh  how  would  this  floor  be  overlaid  with 
dead  corpses !  How  few  of  us  would  escape !  What 
bitter  lamentations  and  tears  would  be  among  us !  One 
would  lose  a  husband  or  a  wife,  another  a  friend  or  a 
neighbour.  And  have  we  hearts  to  mourn,  and  tears  to 
shed  over  such  an  event  as  this,  and  have  we  no  compas- 
sion for  dead  souls  1  Is  there  none  to  mourn  over  them  ? 
Sinners,  if  you  will  still  continue  dead,  there  are  some 
here  to-day  who  part  with  you  with  this  wish,  Oh  that  my 
head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes  a.  fountain  of  tears,  that 
1  might  weep  day  and  night  for  the  slain  of  the  daughter 
of  my  people  !  And  oh  that  our  mournings  may  reach 
the  Lord  of  life,  and  that  you  might  be  quickened  from 
your  death  in  trespasses  and  sins !  Amen  and  amen. 


CONTRITE  SPIRITS  THE  OBJECTS  OF  DIVINE  FAVOUR.    211 


SERMON  VI. 

POOR  AND  CONTRITE  SPIRITS    THE  OBJECTS    OF  THE    DIVINE 

FAVOUR. 

ISAIAH  Ixvi.  2. — To  this  man  will  I  look,  even  to  him  that 
is  poor  and  of  a  contrite  spirit,  and  trembleth  at  my 
word. 

As  we  consist  of  animal  bodies  as  well  as  immortal 
souls,  and  are  endowed  with  corporeal  senses  as  well  as 
rational  powers,  God,  who  has  wisely  adapted  our  religion 
to  our  make,  requires  bodily  as  well  as  spiritual  worship ; 
and  commands  us  not  only  to  exercise  the  inward  powers 
of  our  minds  in  proper  acts  of  devotion,  but  also  to  ex- 
press our  inward  devotion  by  suitable  external  actions,  and 
to  attend  upon  him  in  the  sensible  outward  ordinances 
which  he  has  appointed.  Thus  it  is  under  the  gospel;  but 
it  was  more  remarkably  so  under  the  law,  which,  com- 
pared with  the  pure  and  spiritual  worship  of  the  gospel, 
was  a  system  of  carnal  ordinances,  and  required  a  great 
deal  of  external  pomp  and  grandeur,  and  bodily  services. 
Thus  a  costly  and  magnificent  structure  was  erected,  by 
divine  direction,  in  the  wilderness,  called  the  tabernacle, 
because  built  in  the  form  of  a  tent,  and  movable  from 
place  to  place ;  and  afterwards  a  most  stately  temple  was 
built  by  Solomon,  with  immense  cost,  where  the  divine 
worship  should  be  statedly  celebrated,  and  where  all  the 
males  of  Israel  should  solemnly  meet  for  that  purpose  three 
times  in  a  year. 

These  externals  were  not  intended  to  exclude  the  in- 


212  POOR    AND    CONTITE    SPIRITS 

ternal  worship  of  the  Spirit,  but  to  express  and  assist  it. 
And  these  ceremonials  were  not  to  be  put  into  the  place 
of  morals,  but  observed  as  helps  to  the  practice  of  them, 
and  to  prefigure  the  great  Messiah :  even  under  the  Mo- 
saic dispensation,  God  had  the  greatest  regard  to  holiness 
of  heart  and  a  good  life;  and  the  strictest  observer  of 
ceremonies  could  not  be  accepted  without  them. 

But  it  is  natural  to  degenerate  mankind  to  invert  the 
order  of  things,  to  place  a  part,  the  easiest  and  meanest 
part  of  religion,  for  the  whole  of  it,  to  rest  in  the  exter- 
nals of  religion  as  sufficient,  without  regarding  the  heart, 
and  to  depend  upon  pharisaical  strictness  in  ceremonial 
observances,  as  an  excuse  or  atonement  for  neglecting 
the  weightier  matters  of  the  law,  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith. 

This  was  the  unhappy  error  of  the  Jews  in  Isaiah's 
time;  and  this  the  Lord  would  correct  in  the  first  verses 
of  this  chapter. 

The  Jews  gloried  in  their  having  the  house  of  God 
among  them,  and  were  ever  trusting  in  vain  words,  saying, 
The  temple  of  the  LORD,  the  temple  of  the  LORD,  the  tem- 
ple of  the  LORD  are  these.  Jer.  vii.  4.  They  filled  his  al- 
tars with  costly  sacrifices;  and  in  these  they  trusted  to 
make  atonement  for  sin,  and  secure  the  divine  favour. 

As  to  their  sacrifices  God  lets  them  know,  that  while 
they  had  no  regard  to  their  morals,  but  chose  their  own 
ways,  and  their  souls  delighted  in  their  abominations, 
while  they  presented  them  in  a  formal  manner  without 
the  fire  of  divine  love,  their  sacrifices  were  so  far  from 
procuring  his  acceptance,  that  they  were  odious  to  him. 
He  abhors  their  most  expensive  offerings  as  abominable 
and  profane.  He  that  kitteth  an  ox  for  sacrifice  is  as  far 
from  being  accepted  as  if  he  unjustly  slew  a  man  ;  he  that 
sacrificeth  a  lamb,  as  if  he  cut  off  a  dog^s  neck,  $-c.  Isaiah 
Ixvi.  3. 


THE    OBJECTS    OF   DIVINE    FAVOUR.  213 

To  remove  this  superstitious  .confidence  in  the  temple, 
the  Lord  informs  them  that  he  had  no  need  of  it;  that, 
large  and  magnificent  as  it  was,  it  was  not  fit  to  contain 
him ;  and  that,  in  consecrating  it  to  him,  they  should  not 
proudly  think  that  they  had  given  him  anything  to  which 
he  had  no  prior  right.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  heaven 
is  my  throne,  where  I  reign  conspicuous  in  the  visible 
majesty  and  grandeur  of  a  God ;  and  though  the  earth  is 
not  adorned  with  such  illustrious  displays  of  my  immedi- 
ate presence,  though  it  does  not  shine  in  all  the  glory  of 
my  royal  palace  on  high,  yet  it  is  a  little  province  in  my 
immense  empire,  and  subject  to  my  authority ;  it  is  my 
footstool.  If,  then,  heaven  is  my  throne,  and  earth  is  my 
footstool ;  if  the  whole  creation  is  my  kingdom,  where  is 
the  house  that  ye  build  unto  me  ?  where  is  your  tem- 
ple which  appears  so  stately  in  your  eyes  ?  it  is  van- 
ished, it  is  sunk  into  nothing.  Is  it  able  to  contain 
that  infinite  Being  to  whom  the  whole  earth  is  but  an 
humble  footstool,  and  the  vast  heaven  but  a  throne  ?  Can 
you  vainly  imagine  that  my  presence  can  be  confined  to 
you  in  the  narrow  bounds  of  a  temple,  when  the  heaven 
and  the  heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain  me  ?  Where  is 
the  place  of  my  rest  ?  can  you  provide  a  place  for  my  re- 
pose, as  though  I  were  weary  ?  or  can  my  presence  be 
restrained  to  one  place,  incapable  of  acting  beyond  the 
prescribed  limits  ?  No ;  infinite  space  only  can  equal  my 
being  and  perfections ;  infinite  space  only  is  a  sufficient 
sphere  for  my  operations. 

"  Can  you  imagine  you  can  bribe  my  favour,  and  give 
me  something  I  had  no  right  to  before,  by  all  the  stately 
buildings  you  can  rear  to  my  name  ?  Is  not  universal 
nature  mine  ?  For  all  these  things  hath  mine  hand  made 
out  of  nothing,  and  all  these  things  have  been  or  still  sub- 
sist by  the  support  of  my  all-preserving  hand,  and  what 


214  POOR    AND    CONTRITE    SPIRITS 

right  can  be  more  valid  and  inalienable  than  that  founded 
upon  creation  ?  Your  silver  and  gold  are  mine  and  mine 
the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills :  and  therefore  of  mine 
own  do  you  give  me,  saith  the  Lord." 

These  are  such  majestic  strains  of  language  as  are 
worthy  a  God.  Thus  it  becomes  him  to  advance  himself 
above  the  whole  creation,  and  to  assert  his  absolute  pro- 
perty in,  and  independency  upon,  the  universe. 

Had  he  only  turned  to  us  the  bright  side  of  his  throne, 
that  dazzles  us  with  insufferable  splendor;  had  he  only 
displayed  his  majesty  unallayed  with  grace  and  condescen- 
sion in  such  language  as  this,  it  would  have  overwhelmed 
us,  and  cast  us  into  the  most  abject  despondency,  as  the 
outcasts  of  his  providence,  beneath  his  notice.  We  might 
fear  he  would  overlook  us  with  majestic  disdain,  or  care- 
less neglect,  like  the  little  things  that  are  called  great  by 
mortals,  or  as  the  busy  emmets  of  our  species  are  apt  to 
do.  In  the  hurry  of  business  they  are  liable  to  neglect, 
and  in  the  power  of  pride  and  grandeur  to  overlook  or 
disdain  their  dependents.  We  should  be  ready,  in  hope- 
less anxiety,  to  say,  "  Is  all  this  earth  which  to  us  appears 
so  vast,  and  which  is  parceled  into  a  thousand  mighty  king- 
doms, as  we  call  them,  is  it  all  but  the  humble  foot-stool  of 
God  1  hardly  worthy  to  bear  his  feet  ?  What  then  am  I  ? 
an  atom  of  an  atom-world,  a  trifling  individual  of  a  trifling 
race.  Can  I  expect  he  will  take  any  notice  of  such  an  insig- 
nificant thing  as  I  ?  The  vast  affairs  of  heaven  and  earth  lie 
upon  his  head,  and  he  is  employed  in  the  concerns  of  the 
wide  universe,  and  can  he  find  leisure  to  concern  himself 
with  me,  and  my  little  interests  ?  Will  a  king,  deliber- 
ating upon  the  concerns  of  nations,  interest  himself  in 
favour  of  the  worm  that  crawls  at  his  footstool  ?  If  the 
magnificent  temple  of  Solomon  was  unworthy  of  the  divine 
inhabitant,  will  he  admit  me  into  his  presence,  and  give 


THE    OBJECTS    OF    DIVINE    FAVOUR.  215 

me  audience  ?  how  can  I  expect  it  ?  It  seems  daring  and 
presumptuous  to  hope  for  such  condescension.  And  shall 
I  then  despair  of  the  gracious  regard  of  my  Maker." 

No,  desponding  creature !  mean  and  unworthy  as  thou 
art,  hear  the  voice  of  divine  condescension,  as  well  as  of 
majesty :  To  this  man  will  I  look,  even  to  him  that  is  poor, 
and  of  a  contrite  spirit,  and  that  trembleth  at  my  word. 
Though  God  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with  hands, 
though  he  pours  contempt  upon  princes,  and  scorns  them 
in  all  their  haughty  glory  and  affected  majesty,  yet  there 
are  persons  whom  his  gracious  eye  will  regard.  The  high 
and  lofty  One  that  inhabiteth  eternity,  and  dwelleth  in  the 
high  and  holy  place,  he  will  look  down  through  all  the 
shining  ranks  of  angels  upon — whom  ?  Not  on  the  proud, 
the  haughty  and  presumptuous,  but  upon  him  that  is  poor 
and  of  a  contrite  spirit,  and  trembleth  at  his  word.  To 
this  man  will  he  look  from  the  throne  of  his  majesty,  how- 
ever low,  however  mean  he  may  be.  This  man  is  an 
object  that  can,  as  it  were,  attract  his  eyes  from  all  the 
glories  of  the  heavenly  world,  so  as  to  regard  an  humble, 
self-abasing  worm.  This  man  can  never  be  lost  or  over- 
looked among  the  multitudes  of  creatures,  but  the  eyes  of 
the  Lord  will  discover  him  in  the  greatest  crowd,  his  eyes 
will  graciously  fix  upon  this  man,  this  particular  man, 
though  there  were  but  one  such  in  the  compass  of  the 
creation,  or  though  he  were  banished  into  the  remotest 
corner  of  the  universe,  like  a  diamond  in  a  heap  of  rub- 
bish, or  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean. 

Do  you  hear  this,  you  that  are  poor  and  contrite  in 
spirit,  and  that  tremble  at  his  word  ?  ye  that,  above  all 
others,  are  most  apt  to  fear  you  shall  be  disregarded  by 
him,  because  you,  of  all  others,  are  most  deeply  sensible 
how  unworthy  you  are  of  his  gracious  notice :  God,  the 
great,  the  glorious,  the  terrible  God,  looks  down  upon  you 


216  POOR    AND    CONTRITE    SPIRITS 

with  eyes  of  love,  and  by  so  much  the  more  affectionately, 
by  how  much  the  lower  you  are  in  your  own  esteem. 
Does  not  your  heart  spring  within  you  at  the  sound? 
Are  you  not  lost  in  pleasing  wonder  and  gratitude,  and 
crying  out,  "  Can  it  be  ?  can  it  be  ?  is  it  indeed  possible  ? 
is  it  true  ?"  Yes,  you  have  his  own  word  for  it,  and  do 
you  not  think  it  too  good  news  to  be  true,  but  believe,  and 
rejoice,  and  give  glory  to  his  name;  and  fear  not  what 
men  or  devils  can  do  unto  you. 

This,  my  brethren,  is  a  matter  of  universal  concern. 
It  is  the  interest  of  each  of  us  to  know  whether  we  are 
thus  graciously  regarded  by  that  God  on  whom  our  very 
being  and  all  our  happiness  entirely  depend.  And  how 
shall  we  know  this?  In  no  other  way  than  by  discover- 
ing whether  we  have  the  characters  of  that  happy  man  to 
whom  he  condescends  to  look.  These  are  not  pompous 
and  high  characters,  they  are  not  formed  by  earthly  riches, 
learning,  glory,  and  power :  But  to  this  man  will  I  look, 
saith  the  Lord,  even  to  him  that  is  poor  and  of  a  contrite 
spirit,  and  that  trembleth  at  my  word.  Let  us  inquire  into 
the  import  of  each  of  the  characters. 

I.  It  is  the  poor  man  to  whom  the  Majesty  of  heaven 
condescends  to  look. 

This  does  not  principally  refer  to  those  that  are  poor  in 
this  world  ;  for,  though  it  be  very  common  that  "  the  poor 
of  this  world  are  chosen  to  be  rich  in  faith  and  heirs  of 
the  kingdom  ;"  James  ii.  5 ;  yet  this  is  not  a  universal  rule ; 
for  many,  alas!  that  are  poor  in  this  world  are  not  rich 
towards  God,  nor  rich  in  good  works,  and  therefore  shall 
famish  through  eternity  in  remediless  want  and  wretched- 
ness. But  the  poor  here  signifies  such  as  Christ  charac- 
terizes more  fully  by  the  poor  in  spirit ;  Matt.  v.  3.  And 
this  character  implies  the  following  ingredients : 

1.  The  poor  man,  to  whom  Jehovah  looks,  is  deeply 


THE    OBJECTS    OF    DIVINE    FAVOUR.  217 

sensible  of  his  own  insufficiency,  and  that  nothing  but  the 
enjoyment  of  God  can  make  him  happy. 

The  poor  man  feels  that  he  is  not  formed  self-sufficient, 
but  a  dependent  upon  God.  He  is  sensible  of  the  weak- 
ness and  poverty  of  his  nature,  and  that  he  was  not  en- 
dowed with  a  sufficient  stock  of  riches  in  his  creation  to 
support  him  through  the  endless  duration  for  which  he 
was  formed,  or  even  for  a  single  day.  The  feeble  vine 
does  not  more  closely  adhere  to  the  elm  than  he  does  to 
his  God.  He  is  not  more  sensible  of  the  insufficiency  'of 
his  body  to  subsist  without  air,  or  the  productions  of  the 
earth,  than  of  that  of  his  soul  without  his  God,  and  the 
enjoyment  of  his  love.  In  short,  he  is  reduced  into  his 
proper  place  in  the  system  of  the  universe,  low  and  mean 
in  comparison  with  superior  beings  of  the  angelic  order, 
and  especially  in  comparison  with  the  great  Parent  and 
support  of  nature.  He  feels  himself  to  be,  what  he  really  is, 
a  poor,  impotent,  dependent  creature,  that  can  neither  live, 
nor  move,  nor  exist  without  God.  He  is  sensible  that  his 
sufficiency  is  of  God,  2  Cor.  iii.  5,  "  and  that  all  the  springs 
of  his  happiness  are  in  him." 

This  sense  of  his  dependence  upon  God  is  attended 
with  a  sense  of  the  inability  of  all  earthly  enjoyments  to 
make  him  happy,  and  fill  the  vast  capacities  of  his  soul, 
which  were  formed  for  the  enjoyment  of  an  infinite  good. 
He  has  a  relish  for  the  blessings  of  this  life,  but  it  is  at- 
tended with  a  sense  of  their  insufficiency,  and  does  not 
exclude  a  stronger  relish  for  the  superior  pleasures  of  re- 
ligion. He  is  not  a  precise  hermit,  or  a  sour  ascetic,  on 
the  one  hand ;  and,  on  the  other,  he  is  not  a  lover  of  plea- 
sure more  than  a  lover  of  God. 

If  he  enjoys  no  great  share  of  the  comforts  of  this  life, 
he  does  not  labour,  nor  so  much  as  wish  for  them  as  his 
supreme  happiness:  he  is  well  assured  they  can  never 

VOL.  I— 28 


218  POOR    AND    CONTRITE    SPIRITS 

answer  this  end  in  their  greatest  affluence.  It  is  for  God, 
it  is  for  the  living  God,  that  his  soul  most  eagerly  thirsts. 
In  the  greatest  extremity  he  is  sensible  that  the  enjoyment 
of  his  love  is  more  necessary  to  his  felicity  than  the  pos- 
session of  earthly  blessings;  nay,  he  is  sensible  that  if  he  is 
miserable  in  the  absence  of  these,  the  principal  cause  is 
the  absence  of  his  God.  Oh!  if  he  were  blest  with  the 
perfect  enjoyment  of  God,  he  could  say,  with  Habakkuk, 
Although  the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom,  neither  shall  fruit 
be  in  the  vine ;  the  labour  of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the 
fields  shall  yield  no  meat ;  the  flock  shall  be  cut  off  from 
the  fold,  and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stall;  though 
universal  famine  should  strip  me  of  all  my  earthly  bless- 
ings, yet  I  will  rejoice  in  the  LORD,  as  my  complete  hap- 
piness ;  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation.  Hab.  iii. 
17,  18. 

If  he  enjoys  an  affluence  of  earthly  blessings,  he  still  re- 
tains a  sense  of  his  need  of  the  enjoyment  of  God.  To 
be  discontented  and  dissatisfied  is  the  common  fate  of  the 
rich  as  well  as  the  poor ;  they  are  still  craving,  craving  an 
unknown  something  to  complete  their  bliss.  The  soul, 
being  formed  for  the  fruition  of  the  Supreme  Good,  se- 
cretly languishes  and  pines  away  in  the  midst  of  other  en- 
joyments, without  knowing  its  cure.  It  is  the  enjoyment 
of  God  only  that  can  satisfy  its  unbounded  desires;  but, 
alas !  it  has  no  relish  for  him,  no  thirst  after  him ;  it  is  still 
crying,  "  More,  more  of  the  delights  of  the  world ;"  like  a 
man  in  a  burning  fever,  that  calls  for  cold  water,  that  will 
but  inflame  his  disease,  and  occasion  a  more  painful  return 
of  thirst.  But  the  poor  in  spirit  know  where  their  cure 
lies.  They  do  not  ask  with  uncertainty,  Who  will  show 
us  any  sort  of  good  ?  but  their  petitions  centre  in  this  as 
the  grand  constituent  of  their  happiness,  LORD,  lift  thou  up 
the  light  of  thy  countenance  upon  us;  and  this  puts  more 


THE    OBJECTS    Or    DIVINE    FAVOUR.  219 

gladness  into  their  hearts  than,  the  abundance  of  corn  and 
wine;  Psalm  iv.  6,  7.  This  was  the  language  of  the 
Psalmist,  There  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  desire  besides 
thee.  My  flesh  and  my  heart  faileth;  but  God  is  the 
strength  of  my  heart,  and  my  portion  for  ever ;  Psalm 
Ixxiii.  25,  26.  And  as  this  disposition  extends  to  all 
earthly  things,  so  it  does  to  all  created  enjoyments  what- 
soever, even  to  those  of  the  heavenly  world;  the  poor 
man  is  sensible  that  he  could  not  be  happy  even  there 
without  the  enjoyment  of  God.  His  language  is,  Whom 
have  I  in  heaven  but  thee  ?  It  is  beholding  thy  face  in 
righteousness,  and  awaking  in  thy  likeness,  that  alone  can 
satisfy  me;  Psalm  xvii.  15. 

2.  This  spiritual  poverty  implies  deep  humility  and  self- 
abasement. 

The  poor  man  on  whom  the  God  of  heaven  conde- 
scends to  look  is  mean  in  his  own  apprehensions;  he  ac- 
counts himself  not  a  being  of  mighty  importance.  He  has 
no  high  esteem  of  his  own  good  qualities,  but  is  little  in  his 
own  eyes.  He  is  not  apt  to  give  himself  the  preference 
to  others,  but  is  ready  to  give  way  to  them  as  his  supe- 
riors. He  has  a  generous  sagacity  to  behold  their  good 
qualities,  and  commendable  blindness  towards  their  imper- 
fections :  but  he  is  not  quick  to  discern  his  own  excellencies, 
nor  sparing  to  his  own  frailties. 

Instead  of  being  dazzled  with  the  splendour  of  his  own 
endowments  or  acquisitions,  he  is  apt  to  overlook  them 
with  a  noble  neglect,  and  is  sensible  of  the  weakness  and 
defects  of  his  nature. 

And  as  to  his  gracious  qualities,  they  appear  small,  ex- 
ceeding small  to  him:  when  he  considers  how  much  they 
fall  short  of  what  they  should  be,  they  as  it  were  vanish 
and  shrink  into  nothing.  How  cold  does  his  love  appear 
to  him  in  its  greatest  fervour !  How  feeble  his  faith  in  its 


220  POOR    AND    CONTRITE    SPIRITS 

greatest  confidence !  How  superficial  his  repentance  in 
its  greatest  depth!  How  proud  his  lowest  humility! 
And  as  for  the  good  actions  he  has  performed,  alas!  how 
few,  how  poorly  done,  how  short  of  his  duty  do  they  ap- 
pear! After  he  has  done  all,  he  coun'ts  himself  an  un- 
profitable servant.  After  he  has  done  all,  he  is  more  apt 
to  adopt  the  language  of  the  publican  than  the  pharisee, 
God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner.  In  his  highest  attain- 
ments he  is  not  apt  to  admire  himself;  so  far  is  he  from  it, 
that  it  is  much  more  natural  to  him  to  fall  into  the  op- 
posite extreme,  and  to  account  himself  the  least,  yea, 
less  than  the  least  of  ah1  other  saints  upon  the  face  of 
the  earth:  and  if  he  contends  for  any  preference,  it  is 
for  the  lowest  place  in  the  list  of  Christians.  This  dis- 
position was  remarkably  exemplified  in  St.  Paul,  who 
probably  had  made  greater  advancements  in  holiness  than 
any  other  saint  that  was  ever  received  to  heaven  from  this 
guilty  world. 

He  that  is  poor  in  spirit  has  also  an  humbling  sense  of 
his  own  sinfulness.  His  memory  is  quick  to  recollect  his 
past  sins,  and  he  is  very  sharp-sighted  to  discover  the  re- 
maining corruptions  of  his  heart,  and  the  imperfections  of 
his  best  duties.  He  is  not  ingenious  to  excuse  them,  but 
views  them  impartially  in  all  their  deformity  and  aggrava- 
tions. He  sincerely  doubts  whether  there  be  a  saint  upon 
earth  so  exceeding  corrupt;  and,  though  he  may  be  con- 
vinced that  the  Lord  has  begun  a  work  of  grace  in  him, 
and  consequently,  that  he  is  in  a  better  state  than  such  as 
are  under  the  prevailing  dominion  of  sin,  yet  he  really 
questions  whether  there  be  such  a  depraved  creature  in 
the  world  as  he  sees  he  has  been.  He  is  apt  to  count 
himself  the  chief  of  sinners,  and  more  indebted  to  free 
grace  than  any  of  the  sons  of  men.  He  is  intimately 
acquainted  with  himself;  but  he  sees  only  the  outside  of 


THE   OBJECTS    OF   DIVINE   FAVOUR.  221 

others,  and  hence  he  concludes  himself  so  much  worse 
than  others;  hence  he  loathes  himself  in  his  own  sight  for 
all  his  abominations.  Ezek.  xxxvi.  31.  Self-abasement  is 
pleasing  to  him;  his  humility  is  not  forced;  he  does  not 
think  it  a  great  thing  for  him  to  sink  thus  low.  He  plainly 
sees  himself  to  be  a  mean,  sinful,  exceeding  sinful  creature, 
and  therefore  is  sure  that  it  is  no  condescension,  but  the 
most  reasonable  thing  in  the  world,  for  him  to  think 
meanly  of  himself,  and  to  humble  and  abase  himself.  It  is 
unnatural  for  one  that  esteems  himself  a  being  of  great  im- 
portance to  stoop ;  but  it  is  easy,  and  appears  no  self-denial 
for  a  poor  mean  creature  to  do  so,  who  looks  upon  him- 
self, and  feels  himself,  to  be  such. 

Finally,  the  poor  man  is  deeply  sensible  of  his  own  un- 
worthiness.  He  sees  that  in  himself  he  deserves  no  favour 
from  God  for  all  the  good  he  has  ever  done,  but  that  he 
may  after  all  justly  reject  him.  He  makes  no  proud  boasts 
of  his  good  heart,  or  good  life,  but  falls  in  the  dust  before 
God,  and  casts  all  his  dependence  upon  his  free  grace : — 
which  leads  me  to  observe, 

3.  That  he  who  is  poor  in  spirit  is  sensible  of  his  need 
of  the  influences  of  divine  grace  to  sanctify  him,  and  enrich 
him  with  the  graces  of  the  Spirit. 

He  is  sensible  of  the  want  of  holiness;  this  necessarily 
flows  from  his  sense  of  his  corruption,  and  the  imperfection 
of  all  his  graces.  Holiness  is  the  one  thing  needful  with 
him,  which  he  desires  and  longs  for  above  all  others;  and 
he  is  deeply  sensible  that  he  cannot  work  it  in  his  own 
heart  by  his  own  strength ;  he  feels  that  without  Christ  he 
can  do  nothing,  and  that  it  is  God  who  must  work  in  him 
both  to  will  and  to  do.  Hence  like  a  poor  man  that 
cannot  subsist  upon  his  stock,  he  depends  entirely  upon 
the  grace  of  God  to  work  all  his  works  in  him,  and  to  en- 
able him  to  work  out  his  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling. 


222 

4.  He  is  deeply  sensible  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  for  his  justification. 

He  does  not  think  himself  rich  in  good  works  to  bribe 
his  judge,  and  procure  acquittance,  but,  like  a  poor  crimi- 
nal that,  having  nothing  to  purchase  a  pardon,  nothing  to 
plead  in  his  own  defence,  casts  himself  upon  the  mercy  of 
the  court,  he  places  his  whole  dependence  upon  the  free 
grace  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  He  pleads  his  right- 
eousness only,  and  trusts  in  it  alone.  The  rich  scorn  to 
be  obliged ;  but  the  poor,  that  cannot  subsist  of  themselves, 
will  cheerfully  receive  it. 

5.  And  lastly,  the  man  that  is  poor  in  spirit  is  an   im- 
portunate beggar  at  the  throne  of  grace. 

He  lives  upon  charity;  he  lives  upon  the  bounties  of 
heaven;  and,  as  these  are  not  to  be  obtained  without 
begging,  he  is  frequently  lifting  up  his  cries  to  the  Father 
of  all  his  mercies  for  them.  He  attends  upon  the  ordinances 
of  God,  as  Bartimeus  by  the  way-side,  to  ask  the  charity 
of  passengers.  Prayer  is  the  natural  language  of  spiritual 
poverty:  The  poor,  saith  Solomon,  useth  entreaties,  Prov. 
xviii.  23;  whereas  they  that  are  rich  in  their  own  conceit 
can  live  without  prayer,  or  content  themselves  with  the 
formal,  careless  performance  of  it. 

This  is  the  habitual  character  of  that  poor  man  to  whom 
the  Majesty  of  heaven  vouchsafes  the  looks  of  his  love. 
At  times  indeed  he  has  but  little  sense  of  these  things ; 
but  then  he  is  uneasy,  and  he  labours  to  re-obtain  it,  and 
sometimes  is  actually  blessed  with  it. 

And  is  there  no  such  poor  man  or  woman  in  this  as- 
sembly? I  hope  there  is.  Where  are  ye,  poor  crea- 
tures 1  stand  forth,  and  receive  the  blessings  of  your  Re- 
deemer, Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  &c.  He  who  has 
his  throne  in  the  height  of  heaven,  and  to  whom  this  vast 
earth  is  but  a  footstool,  looks  upon  you  with  eyes  of  love. 


THE   OBJECTS    OF    DIVINE    FAVOUR.  223 

This  spiritual  poverty  is  greater  riches  than  the  treasures 
of  the  universe.  Be  not  ashamed,  therefore,  to  own 
yourselves  poor  men,  if  such  you  are.  May  God  thus 
impoverish  us  all ;  may  he  strip  us  of  all  our  imaginary 
grandeur  and  riches,  and  reduce  us  to  poor  beggars  at  his 
door! 

But  it  is  time  to  consider  the  other  character  of  the 
happy  man  upon  whom  the  Lord  of  heaven  will  graciously 
look;  and  that  is, 

II.  Contrition  of  spirit.  To  this  man  will  I  look  that 
is  of  a  contrite  spirit. 

The  word  contrite  signifies  one  that  is  beaten  or  bruised 
with  hard  blows,  or  a  heavy  burden.  And  it  belongs  to 
the  mourning  penitent  whose  heart  is  broken  and  wounded 
for  sin.  Sin  is  an  intolerable  burden  that  crushes  and 
bruises  him,  and  he  feels  himself  pained  and  sore  under  it. 
His  stony  heart,  which  could  not  be  impressed,  but  rather 
repelled  the  blow,  is  taken  away ;  and  now  he  has  a  heart 
of  flesh,  easily  bruised  and  wounded.  His  heart  is  not 
always  hard  and  senseless,  light  and  trifling;  but  it  has 
tender  sensations ;  he  is  easily  susceptible  of  sorrow  for 
sin,  is  humbled  under  a  sense  of  his  imperfections,  and  is 
really  pained  and  distressed  because  he  can  serve  his  God 
no  better,  but  daily  sins  against  him.  This  character  may 
also  agree  to  the  poor  anxious  soul,  that  is  broken  with 
cruel  fears  of  its  state.  The  stout-hearted  can  venture 
their  eternal  all  upon  uncertainty ;  and  indulge  pleasing 
hopes  without  anxiously  examining  their  foundation ;  but 
he  that  is  of  a  contrite  spirit  is  tenderly  sensible  of  the 
importance  of  the  matter,  and  cannot  be  easy  without 
some  good  evidence  of  safety.  Such  shocking  supposi- 
tions as  these  frequently  startle  him,  and  pierce  his  very 
heart ;  "  What  if  I  should  be  deceived  at  last  ?  What  if 
after  all  I  should  be  banished  from  that  God  in  whom  lies 


224  POOR    AND    CONTRITE    SPIRITS 

all  my  happiness  ?"  &c.  These  are  suppositions  full  of 
insupportable  terror,  when  they  appear  but  barely  possi- 
ble ;  and  much  more  when  there  seems  to  be  reason  for 
them.  Such  an  habitual  pious  jealousy  as  this,  is  a  good 
symptom ;  and  to  your  pleasing  surprise,  ye  doubtful 
Christians,  I  may  tell  you  that  that  Majesty,  who  you  are 
afraid  disregards  you,  looks  down  upon  you  with  pity. 
Therefore  lift  up  your  eyes  to  him  in  wonder  and  joyful 
confidence.  You  are  not  such  neglected  things  as  you 
think.  The  Majesty  of  heaven  thinks  it  not  beneath  him 
to  look  down  through  all  the  glorious  orders  of  angels,  and 
through  interposing  worlds,  down,  down  even  upon  you  in 
the  depth  of  your  self-abhorrence.  Let  us, 

III.  Consider  the  remaining  character  of  the  happy 
man  to  whom  the  Lord  will  look ;  Him  that  trembleth  at 
my  word. 

This  character  implies  a  tender  sense  of  the  great  things 
of  the  word,  and  a  heart  easily  impressed  with  them  as 
the  most  important  realities.  This  was  remarkably  ex- 
emplified in  tender-hearted  Josiah.  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  19, 
20,  21,  27.  To  one  that  trembles  at  the  divine  word,  the 
threatenings  of  it  do  not  appear  vain  terrors,  nor  great 
swelling  words  of  vanity,  but  the  most  tremendous  reali- 
ties. Such  an  one  cannot  bear  up  under  them,  but  would 
tremble,  and  fall,  and  die  away,  if  not  relieved  by  some 
happy  promise  of  deliverance.  He  that  trembles  at  the 
word  of  God  is  not  a  stupid  hearer  or  reader  of  it.  It 
reaches  and  pierces  his  heart  as  a  sharp  two-edged  sword ; 
it  carries  power  along  with  it,  and  he  feels  that  it  is  the 
word  of  God,  and  not  of  men,  even  when  it  is  spoken  by 
feeble  mortals.  Thus  he  not  only  trembles  at  the  terror, 
but  at  the  authority  of  the  word ; — which  leads  me  to  ob- 
serve farther,  that  he  trembles  with  filial  veneration  of  the 
majesty  of  God  speaking  in  his  word.  He  considers  it 


THE    OBJECTS    OF    DIVINE    FAVOUR.  225 

as  his  voice  who  spake  all  things  into  being,  and  whose 
glory  is  such  that  a  deep  solemnity  must  seize  those  that 
are  admitted  to  hear  him  speak. 

How  opposite  is  this  to  the  temper  of  multitudes  who 
regard  the  word  of  God  no  more  than  (with  horror  I  ex- 
press it)  the  word  of  a  child  or  a  fool.  '  They  will  have 
their  own  way,  let  him  say  what  he  will.  They  persist  in 
sin,  in  defiance  of  his,  threatenings.  They  sit  as  careless 
and  stupid  under  his  word,  as  though  it  were  some  old, 
dull,  trifling  story.  It  seldom  makes  any  impressions  upon 
their  stony  hearts.  These  are  the  brave,  undaunted  men 
of  the  world,  who  harden  themselves  against  the  fear  of 
futurity.  But,  unhappy  creatures!  the  God  of  heaven 
disdains  to  give  them  a  gracious  look,  while  he  fixes  his 
eyes  upon  the  man  that  "  is  contrite,  and  that  trembles  at 
his  word." 

And  where  is  that  happy  man  ?  Where  in  this  assem- 
bly, where  is  the  contrite  spirit  1  Where  the  man  that 
trembleth  at  the  word  ?  You  are  all  ready  to  catch  at 
the  character,  but  be  not  presumptuous  on  the  one  hand, 
nor  excessively  timorous  on  the  other.  Inquire  whether 
this  be  your  prevailing  character.  If  so,  then  claim  it, 
and  rejoice  in  it,  though  you  have  it  not  in  perfection. 
But  if  you  have  it  not  prevailingly,  do  not  seize  it  as  your 
own.  Though  you  have  been  at  times  distressed  with  a 
sense  of  sin  and  danger,  and  the  word  strikes  a  terror  to 
your  hearts,  yet,  unless  you  are  habitually  of  a  tender  and 
a  contrite  spirit,  you  are  not  to  claim  the  character. 

But  let  such  of  you  as  are  poor  and  contrite  in  spirit, 
and  that  tremble  at  the  word  of  the  Lord,  enter  deeply 
into  the  meaning  of  this  expression,  that  the  Lord  looks 
to  you.  He  does  not  look  on  you  as  a  careless  specta- 
tor, not  concerning  himself  with  you,  or  caring  what 
will  become  of  you,  but  he  looks  upon  you  as  a  father, 

VOL.  I.— 29 


POOR    AND    CONTRITE    SPIRITS 
f 

a  friend,  a  benefactor :  his  looks  are  efficacious  for  your 
good. 

He  looks  upon  you  with  acceptance.  He  is  pleased 
with  the  sight.  He  loves  to  see  you  labouring  towards 
him.  He  looks  upon  you  as  the  objects  of  his  everlasting 
love,  and  purchased  by  the  blood  of  his  Son,  and  he  is 
well  pleased  with  you  for  his  righteousness'  sake.  Hence 
his  looking  upon  him  that  is  poor,  &c.,  is  opposed  to  his 
hating  the  wicked  and  their  sacrifices,  ver.  3.  And  is  he 
whom  you  have  so  grievously  offended,  he  whose  wrath 
you  fear  above  all  other  things,  is  he  indeed  reconciled  to 
you,  and  does  he  delight  in  you?  what  cause  of  joy,  and 
praise,  and  wonder  is  here ! 

Again,  he  looks  to  you  so  as  to  take  particular  notice 
of  yo«-  He  sees  all  the  workings  of  your  hearts  towards 
him.  He  sees  and  pities  you  in  your  honest,  though  fee- 
ble conflicts  with  indwelling  sin.  He  observes  all  your 
faithful  though  weak  endeavours  to  serve  him.  His  eyes 
pierce  your  very  hearts,  and  the  least  motion  there  cannot 
escape  his  notice.  This  indeed  might  make  you  tremble, 
if  he  looked  upon  you  with  the  eyes  of  a  judge,  for  oh, 
how  many  abominations  must  he  see  in  you !  But  be  of 
good  cheer,  he  looks  upon  you  with  the  eyes  of  a  friend, 
and  with  that  love  which  covers  a  multitude  of  sins.  He 
looks  upon  you  with  the  eyes  of  compassion  in  all  your 
calamities.  He  looks  upon  you  to  see  that  you  be  not 
overborne  and  crushed.  David,  who  passed  through  as 
many  hardships  and  afflictions  as  any  of  you,  could  say 
from  happy  experience,  The  eyes  of  the  LORD  are  upon 
the  righteous,  and  his  ears  are  open  to  their  cry.  Psal. 
xxxiv.  15. 

Finally,  he  looks  to  you  so  as  to  look  after  you,  as  we 
do  after  the  sick  and  weak.  He  looks  to  you  so  as  tor 
provide  for  you :  and  he  will  give  you  grace  and  glory, 


THE    OBJECTS    OF    DIVINE    FAVOUR.  227 

and  no  good  thing  will  be  withheld  from  you.  Psal.  Ixxxiv. 
11. 

And  are  you  not  safe  and  happy  under  the  inspection 
of  a  father  and  a  friend?  Let  a  little  humble  courage 
then  animate  you  amid  your  many  dejections,  and  confide 
in  that  care  of  which  you  feel  yourself  to  be  so  unworthy. 

Here  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  observe,  what  must  give 
you  no  small  pleasure,  that  those  very  persons  who,  ac- 
cording to  the  estimate  of  men,  are  the  most  likely  to  be 
overlooked,  are  those  whom  God  graciously  regards. 
The  persons  themselves  are  apt  to  cry,  "  Happy  I,  could 
I  believe  that  the  God  of  heaven  thus  graciously  regards 
me ;  but,  alas !  I  feel  myself  a  poor  unworthy  creature ;  I 
am  a  trembling,  broken-hearted  thing,  beneath  the  notice 
of  so  great  a  Majesty."  And  art  thou  so  indeed?  then  I 
may  convert  thy  objection  into  an  encouragement.  Thou 
art  the  very  person  upon  whom  God  looks.  His  eyes 
are  running  to  and  fro  through  the  earth  in  quest  of  such 
as  thou  art ;  and  he  will  find  thee  out  among  the  innumer- 
able multitude  of  mankind.  Wert  thou  surrounded  with 
crowds  of  kings  and  nobles,  his  eyes  would  pass  by  them 
all  to  fix  upon  thee.  What  a  glorious  artifice,  if  I  may 
so  speak,  is  this,  to  catch  at  and  convert  the  person's  dis- 
couragment  as  a  ground  of  courage !  to  make  that  the 
character  of  the  favourites  of  heaven,  which  they  them- 
selves look  upon  as  marks  of  his  neglect  of  them !  "  Alas !" 
says  the  poor  man,  "  if  I  was  the  object  of  divine  notice, 
he  would  not  suffer  me  to  continue  thus  poor  and  broken- 
hearted." But  you  may  reason  directly  the  reverse;  he 
makes  you  thus  poor  in  spirit,  sensible  of  your  sinfulness 
and  imperfections,  because  that  he  graciously  regards  you. 
He  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  puffed  up  with  your  imaginary 
goodness,  like  the  rest  of  the  world,  because  he  loves  you 
more  than  he  loves  them. 


228  POOR    AND    CONTRITE    SPIRITS 

However  unaccountable  this  procedure  seems,  there  is 
very  good  reason  for  it.  The  poor  are  the  only  persons 
that  would  relish  the  enjoyment  of  God,  and  prize  his  love ; 
they  alone  are  capable  of  the  happiness  of  heaven,  which 
consists  in  the  perfection  of  holiness. 

To  conclude,  let  us  view  the  perfection  and  conde- 
scension of  God  as  illustrated  by  this  subject.  Consider, 
ye  poor  in  spirit,  who  he  is  that  stoops  to  look  upon 
such  little  things  as  you.  It  is  he  whose  throne  is 
in  the  highest  heaven,  surrounded  with  myriads  of  an- 
gels and  archangels;  it  is  he  whose  footstool  is  the 
earth,  who  supports  every  creature  upon  it;  it  is  he 
who  is  exalted  above  the  blessings  and  praise  of  all  the 
celestial  armies,  and  who  cannot  without  condescension 
behold  the  things  that  are  done  in  heaven  :  it  is  he  that 
looks  down  upon  such  poor  worms  as  you.  And  what  a 
stoop  is  this ! 

It  is  he  that  looks  upon  you  in  particular,  who  looks 
after  all  the  worlds  he  has  made.  He  manages  all  the 
affairs  of  the  universe;  he  takes  care  of  every  individual 
in  his  vast  family;  he  provides  for  all  his  creatures,  and 
yet  he  is  at  leisure  to  regard  you.  He  takes  as  particular 
notice  of  you  as  if  you  were  his  only  creatures.  What 
perfection  is  this !  what  an  infinite  grasp  of  thought !  what 
unbounded  power !  and  what  condescension  too  !  Do  but 
consider  what  a  small  figure  you  make  in  the  universe  of 
beings.  You  are  not  so  much  in  comparison  with  the 
infinite  multitude  of  creatures  in  the  compass  of  nature,  as 
a  grain  of  sand  to  all  the  sands  upon  the  sea  shore,  or  as 
a  mote  to  the  vast  globe  of  earth.  And  yet  he,  that  has 
the  care  of  the  whole  universe,  takes  particular  notice  of 
you — you  who  are  but  trifles  compared  with  your  fellow- 
creatures  ;  and  who,  if  you  were  annihilated,  would  hardly 
leave  a  blank  in  the  creation.  Consider  this,  arid  wonder 


THE    OBJECTS    OF    DIVINE    FAVOUR.  229 

at  the  condescension  of  God ;  consider  this,  and  acknow- 
ledge your  own  meanness ;  you  are  but  nothing,  not  only 
compared  with  God,  but  you  are  as  nothing  in  the  system 
of  creation. 

I  shall  add  but  this  one  natural  reflection :  If  it  be  so 
great  a  happiness  to  have  the  great  God  for  our  patron, 
then  what  is  it  to  be  out  of  his  favour  ?  to  be  disregarded 
by  him?  methinks  an  universal  tremor  may  seize  this 
assembly  at  the  very  supposition.  And  is  there  a  creature 
in  the  universe  in  this  wretched  condition  ?  methinks  all 
the  creation  besides  must  pity  him.  Where  is  the  wretched 
being  to  be  found  1  must  we  descend  to  hell  to  find  him ; 
No,  alas!  there  are  many  such  on  this  earth  !  nay,  I  must 
come  nearer  you  still,  there  are  many  such  probably  in 
this  assembly :  all  among  you  are  such  who  are  not  poor 
and  contrite  in  spirit,  and  do  not  tremble  at  the  word  of 
the  Lord.  And  art  thou  not  one  of  the  miserable  number, 
oh  man  ?  What !  disregarded  by  the  God  that  made  thee ! 
not  favoured  with  one  look  of  love  by  the  author  of  all 
happiness !  He  looks  on  thee  indeed,  but  it  is  with  eyes 
of  indignation,  marking  thee  out  for  vengeance ;  and  canst 
thou  be  easy  in  such  a  case  ?  wilt  thou  not  labour  to  impo- 
verish thyself,  and  have  thy  heart  broken,  that  thou  mayest 
become  the  object  of  his  gracious  regard  1 


230  THE  NATURE  AND  DANGER 


SERMON  VII. 

THE   NATURE   AND   DANGER  OF    MAKING   LIGHT    OF   CHRIST 
AND    SALVATION. 

MATT.  xxn.  5. — But  they  made  light  of  it. 

THERE  is  not  one  of  us  in  this  assembly  that  has  heard 
anything,  but  what  has  heard  of  Christ  and  salvation :  there 
is  not  one  of  us  but  has  had  the  rich  blessings  of  the  gos- 
pel freely  and  repeatedly  offered  to  us :  there  is  not  one 
of  us  but  stands  in  the  most  absolute  need  of  these  bless- 
ings, and  must  perish  for  ever  without  them;  I  wish  I 
could  add,  there  is  not  one  of  us  but  has  cheerfully  accepted 
them  according  to  the  offer  of  the  gospel.  But,  alas ! 
such  an  assembly  is  not  to  be  expected  on  earth !  Multi- 
tudes will  make  light  of  Christ  and  the  invitations  of  the 
gospel,  as  the  Jews  did. 

This  parable  represents  the  great  God  under  the  majes- 
tic idea  of  a  king. 

He  is  represented  as  making  a  marriage  feast  for  his 
Son;  that  is,  God  in  the  gospel  offers  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ  as  a  Saviour  to  the  guilty  sons  of  men,  and,  upon 
their  acceptance  of  him,  the  most  intimate  and  endearing 
union,  and  the  tenderest  mutual  affection  takes  place 
between  Christ  and  them ;  which  may  properly  be  repre- 
sented by  the  marriage  relation.  And  God  has  provided 
for  them  a  rich  variety  of  blessings,  pardon,  holiness,  and 
everlasting  felicity,  which  may  be  signified  by  a  royal  nup- 
tial feast,  verse  2. 


OF   MAKING    LIGHT   OF    CHRIST.  231 

These  blessings  were  first  offered  to  the  Jews,  who 
were  bidden  to  the  wedding  by  Moses  and  the  prophets, 
whose  great  business  it  was  to  prepare  them  to  receive  the 
Messiah,  verse  3. 

The  servants  that  were  sent  to  call  them,  that  were  thus 
bidden,  were  the  apostles  and  seventy  disciples,  whom 
Christ  sent  out  to  preach  that  the  gospel  kingdom  was 
just  at  hand,  verse  3. 

When  the  Jews  rejected  this  call,  he  sent  forth  other 
servants,  namely,  the  apostles,  after  his  ascension,  who 
were  to  be  more  urgent  in  their  invitations,  and  to  tell 
them  that,  in  consequence  of  Christ's  death,  all  things  were 
now  ready,  verse  4. 

It  is  seldom  that  invitations  to  a  royal  feast  are  rejected ; 
but  alas !  the  Jews  rejected  the  invitation  of  the  gospel, 
and  would  not  accept  of  its  important  blessings.  They 
made  light  of  Christ  and  his  blessings :  they  were  careless 
to  them,  and  turned  their  attention  to  other  things. 

These  things  were  not  peculiar  to  the  Jews,  but  belong 
to  us  sinners  of  the  Gentiles  in  these  ends  of  the  earth. 
Christ  is  still  proposed  to  us ;  to  the  same  blessings  we  are 
invited ;  and  I  have  the  honour,  my  dear  brethren,  of  ap- 
pearing among  you  as  a  servant  of  the  heavenly  King,  sent 
out  to  urge  you  to  embrace  the  offer. 

I  doubt  not  but  sundry  of  you  have  complied;  and  you 
are  enriched  and  made  for  ever. 

But  alas !  must  I  not  entertain  a  godly  jealousy  over 
some  of  you  1  Have  you  not  made  light  of  Christ  and 
salvation,  to  which  you  have  been  invited  for  so  many 
years  successively  ? 

Your  case  is  really  lamentable,  as  I  hope  you  will  see 
before  I  have  done ;  and  I  most  sincerely  compassionate 
you  from  my  heart.  I  now  rise  up  in  this  solemn  place 
with  the  design  to  address  you  with  the  most  awful  serious- 


232  THE  NATURE  AND  DANGER 

ness,  and  the  most  compassionate  concern :  and  did  you 
know  how  much  your  happiness  may  depend  upon  it,  and 
how  anxious  I  am  lest  I  should  fail  in  the  attempt,  I  am 
sure  you  could  not  but  pray  for  me,  and  pity  me.  If  ever 
you  regarded  a  man  in  the  most  serious  temper  and 
address,  I  beg  you  would  now  regard  what  I  am  going  to 
say  to  you. 

You  cannot  receive  any  benefit  from  this,  or  indeed  any 
other  subject,  till  you  apply  it  to  yourselves.  And  there- 
fore, in  order  to  reform  you  of  the  sin  of  making  light  of 
Christ  and  the  gospel,  I  must  first  inquire  who  are  guilty 
of  it.  For  this  purpose  let  us  consider, 

What  is  it  to  make  light  of  Christ  and  the  invitations 
of  the  gospel? 

I  can  think  of  no  plainer  way  to  discover  this,  than  to 
inquire  how  we  treat  those  things  that  we  highly  esteem ; 
and  also  by  way  of  contrast,  how  we  treat  those  things 
which  we  make  light  of;  and  hence  we  may  discover 
whether  Christ  and  the  gospel  may  be  ranked  among  the 
things  we  esteem,  or  those  we  disregard. 

I.  Men  are  apt  to  remember  and  affectionately  think  of 
the  things  that  they  highly  esteem ;  but  as  for  those  which 
they  disregard,  they  can  easily  forget  them,  and  live  from 
day  to  day  without  a  single  thought  about  them. 

Now  do  you  often  affectionately  remember  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  do  your  thoughts  affectionately  go  after 
him?  do  they  pay  him  early  visits  in  the  morning?  do  they 
make  frequent  excursions  to  him  through  the  day  ?  and  do 
you  lie  down  with  him  in  your  hearts  at  night  ?  Is  not  the 
contrary  evident  as  to  many  of  you?  Can  you  not  live 
from  day  to  day  thoughtless  of  Jesus,  and  your  everlasting 
salvation  ?  Recollect  now,  how  many  affectionate  thoughts 
have  you  had  of  these  things  through  the  week  past,  or  in 
this  sacred  morning.  And  can  you  indeed  highly  esteem 


OF    MAKING    LIGHT    OF    CHRIST.  233 

those  things  which  you  hardly  ever  think  of?  Follow 
your  own  hearts,  sirs,  observe  which  way  they  most  na- 
turally and  freely  run,  and  then  judge  whether  you  make 
light  of  the  gospel  or  not.  Alas !  we  cannot  persuade 
men  to  one  hour's  serious  consideration  what  they  should 
do  for  an  interest  in  Christ;  we  cannot  persuade  them  so 
much  as  to  afford  him  only  their  thoughts,  which  are  such 
cheap  things ;  and  yet  they  will  not  be  convinced  that  they 
make  light  of  Christ.  And  here  lies  the  infatuation  of 
sin ;  it  blinds  and  befools  men,  so  that  they  do  not  know 
what  they  think  of,  what  they  love,  or  what  they  intend, 
much  less  do  they  know  the  habitual  bent  of  their  souls. 
They  often  imagine  themselves  free  from  those  sins  to 
which  they  are  most  enslaved,  and  particularly  they  think 
themselves  innocent  of  the  crime  of  making  light  of  the 
gospel,  when  this  is  the  very  crime  that  is  likely  to  destroy 
them  for  ever. 

II.  The  things  that  men  value,  if  of  such  a  nature  as  to 
admit  of  publication,  will  be  the  frequent  subjects  of  their 
discourse :  the  thoughts  will  command  the  tongue,  and  fur- 
nish materials  for  conversation.  But  those  things  that 
they  forget  and  disregard  they  will  not  talk  of. 

Do  not  they  therefore  make  light  of  Christ  and  salva- 
tion, who  have  no  delight  in  conversing  about  them,  and 
hardly  ever  mention  the  name  of  Christ  but  in  a  trifling 
or  profane  manner  ?  They  do  not  like  the  company  where 
divine  things  are  discoursed  of,  but  think  it  precise  and 
troublesome.  They  had  much  rather  be  entertained  with 
humorous  tales  and  idle  stories,  or  talk  about  the  affairs 
of  the  world.  They  are  of  the  world,  says  St.  John,  there- 
fore speak  they  of  the  world,  and  the  world  heareth  them. 
1  John  iv.  5.  They  are  in  their  element  in  such  conver- 
sation. Or  others  may  talk  about  religion;  but  it  is  only 

about   the  circumstances  of  it,    as,   "  How  such   a  man 
VOL.  I.— so 


234  THE  NATURE  AND  DANGER 

preached ;  it  was  a  very  good  or  a  bad  sermon,"  &c.,  but 
they  care  not  to  enter  into  the  spirit  and  substance  of 
divine  things !  and  if  they  speak  of  Christ  and  experimen- 
tal religion,  it  is  in  a  heartless  and  insipid  manner.  And 
do  not  such  make  light  of  the  gospel?  and  is  not  this  the 
character  of  many  of  you? 

III.  Men  make  light  of  those  things,  if  they  are  of  a 
practical  nature,  which  they  only  talk  about,  but  do  not 
reduce  into  practice. 

Christianity  was  intended  not  to  furnish  matter  for  empty 
talkers,  but  to  govern  the  heart  and  practice.  But  are 
there  not  some  that  only  employ  their  tongues  about  it, 
especially  when  their  spirits  are  raised  with  liquor,  and 
then  a  torrent  of  noisy  religion  breaks  from  them.  Watch 
their  lives,  and  you  will  see  little  appearance  of  Christi- 
anity there.  And  do  not  these  evidently  make  light  of 
Christ,  who  make  him  the  theme  of  their  drunken  conver- 
sation, or  who  seem  to  think  that  God  sent  his  Son  from 
heaven  just  to  set  the  world  a  talking  about  him?  There 
is  nothing  in  nature  that  seems  to  me  more  abominable 
than  this. 

IV.  We  take  the  utmost  pains  and  labour  to  secure  the 
things  we  value,  and  cannot  be  easy  while  our  property  in 
them  is  uncertain ;  but  those  things  that  we  think  lightly 
of  we  care  but  little  whether  they  be  ours  or  not. 

Therefore,  have  not  such  of  you  made  light  of  Christ 
and  salvation,  who  have  lived  twenty  or  thirty  years  un- 
certain whether  you  have  interest  in  him,  and  yet  have 
been  easy  and  contented,  and  take  no  method  to  be  re- 
solved? Are  all  that  hear  me  this  day  determined  in  this 
important  question,  "  What  shall  become  of  me  when  I 
die?"  Are  you  all  certain  upon  good  grounds,  and  after 
a  thorough  trial,  that  you  shall  be  saved?  Oh  that  you 
were !  but,  alas !  you  are  not.  And  do  you  think  you 


OF    MAKING    LIGHT    OF    CHRIST.  235 

would  bear  this  uncertainty  about  it,  if  you  did  not  make 
light  of  salvation?  No;  you  would  carefully  examine 
yourselves ;  you  would  diligently  pursue  the  Scriptures  to 
find  out  the  marks  of  those  that  shall  be  saved ;  you  would 
anxiously  consult  those  that  could  direct  you,  and  particu- 
larly pious  ministers,  who  would  think  it  the  greatest  favour 
you  could  do  them  to  devolve  such  an  office  upon  them. 
But  now  ministers  may  sit  in  their  studies  for  a  whole  year, 
and  not  ten  persons  perhaps  in  five  hundred  agreeably  in- 
trude upon  them  on  this  important  business. 

Oh,  sirs,  if  the  gospel  should  pierce  your  hearts  indeed, 
you  would  but  cry  out  with  the  convicted  Jews,  Men  and 
brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ?  Acts  ii.  37.  Paul,  when  awa- 
kened, cries  out,  in  a  trembling  consternation,  Lord  !  what 
wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?  But  when  shall  we  hear  such 
questions  now-a-days? 

V.  The  things  that  men  highly  esteem,  deeply  and  ten- 
derly affect  them,  and  excite  some  motions  in  their  hearts : 
but  what  they  make  light  of,  makes  no  impression  upon 
them. 

And  if  you  did  not  make  light  of  the  gospel,  what  work- 
ings would  there  be  in  your  hearts  about  it?  what  solemn, 
tender,  and  vigorous  passion  would  it  raise  in  you  to  hear 
such  things  about  the  world  to  come !  what  fear  and  as- 
tonishment would  seize  you  at  the  consideration  of  your 
misery ;  what  transports  of  joy  and  gratitude  would  you 
feel  at  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  by  the  blood  of  Christ ! 
what  strong  efficacious  purposes  would  be  raised  in  you  at 
the  discovery  of  your  duty !  Oh  what  hearers  should  we 
have,  were  it  not  for  this  one  sin,  the  making  light  of  the 
gospel !  whereas  now  we  are  in  danger  of  wearying  them, 
or  preaching  them  asleep  with  our  most  solemn  discourses 
about  this  momentous  affair?  We  talk  to  them  of  Christ 
and  salvation  till  they  grow  quite  tired  of  this  dull  old  tale, 


236  THE  NATURE  AND  DANGER 

and  this  foolishness  of  preaching.  Alas !  little  would  one 
think  from  the  air  of  carelessness,  levity,  and  inattention 
that  appears  among  them,  that  they  were  hearing  such 
weighty  truths,  or  have  any  concern  in  them. 

VI.  Our  estimate  of  things  may  be  discovered  by  the 
diligence  and  earnestness  of  our  endeavours  about  them. 
Those  things  which  we  highly  value,  we  think  no  pains 
too  great  to  obtain ;  but  what  we  think  lightly  of  we  use 
no  endeavours  about,  or  we  use  them  in  a  languid,  care- 
less manner. 

And  do  not  they  make  light  of  Christ  and  salvation, 
who  do  not  exert  themselves  in  earnest  to  obtain  them,  and 
think  a  great  deal  of  every  little  thing  they  do  in  religion  ? 
they  are  still  ready  to  cry  out,  "  What  need  of  so  much 
pains?  we  hope  to  be  saved  without  so  much  trouble." 
And,  though  these  may  not  be  so  honest  as  to  speak  it 
out,  it  is  plain  from  their  temper  and  practice,  they  grudge 
all  the  service  they  do  for  Christ  as  done  to  a  master  they 
do  not  love.  They  love  and  esteem  the  world,  and  there- 
fore for  the  world  they  will  labour  and  toil  all  day,  and 
seem  never  to  think  they  can  do  too  much ;  but  for  the 
God  that  made  them,  for  the  Lord  that  bought  them,  and 
for  their  everlasting  salvation,  they  seem  afraid  of  taking 
too  much  pains.  Let  us  preach  to  them  as  long  as  we 
will,  we  cannot  bring  them  in  earnest  to  desire  and  pursue 
after  holiness.  Follow  them  to  their  houses,  and  you  will 
hardly  ever  find  them  reading  a  chapter  in  their  Bibles,  or 
calling  upon  God  with  their  families,  so  much  as  once  a 
day.  Follow  them  into  their  retirements,  and  you  will 
hear  no  penitent  confessions  of  sin,  no  earnest  cries  for 
mercy.  They  will  not  allow  to  God  that  one  day  in  seven 
which  he  has  appropriated  to  his  own  immediate  service, 
but  they  will  steal  and  prostitute  some  even  of  those  sacred 
hours  for  idleness,  for  worldly  conversation,  or  business. 


OF    MAKING    LIGHT    OF   CHRIST.  237 

And  many  of  them  are  so  malignant  in  wickedness,  that 
they  will  reproach  and  ridicule  others  that  are  not  so  made 
as  themselves  in  these  respects.  And  is  not  Christ  worth 
seeking  ?  Is  not  eternal  salvation  worth  so  much  trouble  ? 
Does  not  that  man  make  light  of  these  things  that  thinks 
his  ease  or  carnal  pleasure  of  greater  importance?  Let 
common  sense  judge. 

VII.  That  which  we  highly  value  we  think  we  cannot 
buy  too  dear;  and  we  are  ready  to  part  with  every  thing 
that  comes  in  competition  with  it.  The  merchant  that 
found  one  pearl  of  great  price,  sold  all  that  he  had  to  pur- 
chase it,  Matt.  xiii.  46,  but  those  things  that  we  make  light 
of,  we  will  not  part  with  things  of  value  for  them. 

Now,  when  Christ  and  the  blessings  of  the  gospel  come 
in  competition  with  the  world  and  sinful  pleasures,  you 
may  know  which  you  most  highly  esteem,  by  considering 
which  you  are  most  ready  to  part  with.  You  are  called 
to  part  with  every  thing  that  is  inconsistent  with  an  interest 
in  Christ,  and  yet  many  of  you  will  not  do  it.  You  are 
called  but  to  give  God  his  own,  to  resign  all  to  his  will,  to 
let  go  all  those  profits  and  pleasures  which  you  must  either 
part  with,  or  part  with  Christ,  and  yet  your  hearts  cling  to 
these  things;  you  grasp  them  eagerly,  and  nothing  can 
tear  them  from  you.  You  must  have  your  pleasures,  you 
must  keep  your  credit  in  the  world,  you  must  look  to  your 
estates,  whatever  becomes  of  Christ  and  salvation ;  as  if 
you  could  live  and  die  better  without  Christ  than  without 
these  things ;  or  as  if  Christ  could  not  make  you  happy 
without  them.  And  does  not  this  bring  the  matter  to  an 
issue,  and  plainly  show  that  you  make  light  of  Christ  in 
comparison  with  these  things  ?  Christ  himself  has  assured 
you,  over  and  over,  that  unless  you  are  willing  to  part 
with  all  for  his  sake,  you  cannot  be  his  disciples ;  and  yet, 
while  you  have  the  quite  contrary  disposition,  you  will 


238  THE  NATURE  AND  DANGER 

pretend  to  be  his  disciples ;  as  if  you  knew  better  what  it 
is  that  constituted  his  disciples  than  he. 

VIII.  Those  things  which  we  highly  value,  we  shall  be 
for  helping  our  friends  to  obtain. 

Do  not  those,  then,  make  light  of  Christ,  who  do  not 
take  half  so  much  pains  to  help  their  children  to  an  in- 
terest in  him,  as  to  set  them  up  in  credit  in  the  world,  and 
leave  them  large  fortunes?  They  supply  the  outward 
wants  of  their  families,  but  they  take  little  or  no  care  about 
their  everlasting  salvation.  Alas!  Sirs,  the  neglected, 
ignorant,  and  vicious  children  and  servants  of  such  of  you 
can  witness  against  you,  that  you  make  very  light  of 
Christ  and  salvation,  and  their  immortal  souls. 

IX.  That  which  men  highly  esteem  they  will  so  dili- 
gently pursue,  that  you  may  see  their  regard  for  it  in 
their  endeavours  after  it,  if  it  be  a  matter  within  their 
reach. 

You  may  therefore  see  that  many  make  light  of  the 
gospel  by  the  little  knowledge  they  have  of  it,  after  all  the 
means  of  instruction  with  which  they  have  been  favoured. 
Alas !  where  is  their  improvement  in  holiness !  how  little 
do  they  know  of  their  own  hearts,  of  God  and  Christ,  and 
the  world  to  come,  and  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved ! 
Ask  them  about  these  things,  and  you  will  find  them 
stupidly  ignorant;  and  yet  they  have  so  much  conceited 
knowledge  that  they  will  not  acknowledge  it ;  or  if  they 
do,  they  have  no  better  excuse  than  to  say  they  are  no 
scholars,  or  they  have  a  poor  memory;  as  if  it  required 
extensive  learning,  or  a  great  genius  to  know  the  things 
that  are  necessary  to  salvation.  Oh!  if  they  had  not 
made  light  of  these  things;  if  they  had  bestowed  but  half 
the  pains  upon  them  which  they  have  taken  to  understand 
matters  of  trade  and  worldly  business,  they  would  not  be 
so  grossly  ignorant  as  they  are!  When  men  can  learn 


OP   MAKING   LIGHT    OF   CHRIST.  239 

the  hardest  trade  in  a  few  years,  when  men  of  bright  parts, 
and  perhaps  considerable  learning,  after  living  so  many 
years,  are  still  mere  novices  in  matters  of  religion,  and  do 
not  so  much  as  know  the  terms  of  life  according  to  the 
gospel,  is  it  not  plain  that  they  care  but  little  about  these 
things,  and  that  they  make  light  of  the  Son  of  God,  and 
all  his  inestimable,  immortal  blessings? 

Thus  I  have  offered  you  sufficient  matter  of  conviction 
in  this  affair.     And  what  is  the  result?     Does  not  con- 
science smite  some  of  you  by  this  time,  and  say,  "  I  ara 
the  man  that  have  made  light  of  Christ  and  his  gospel  ?" 
If  not,  upon  what  evidence  are  you  acquitted  ?     Some  of 
you,  I  doubt  not,  can  say,  in  the  integrity  of  your  hearts, 
"  Alas !  I  am  too  careless  about  this  important  affair,  but 
God  knows  I  am  often  deeply  concerned  about  it;  God 
knows  that  if  ever  I  was  in  earnest  about  any  thing  in  all 
my  life,  it  has  been  about  my  everlasting  state;  and  there 
is  nothing  in  all  the  world  that  habitually  lies  so  near  my 
heart.     But  are  there  not  some  of  you  whom  conscience 
does  not  accuse  of  this  crime  of  too  much  carelessness 
about  the  gospel,  not  because  you  are  innocent,  but  be- 
cause you  make  so  very  light  of  it,  that  you  will  make  no 
thorough  search  into  it?  and  does  not  this  alone  prove 
you  guilty?     I  beseech  such  to  consider  the  folly  of  your 
conduct.     Do  you  then  think  to  excuse  your  crime,  by 
being  careless  whether  you  are  guilty  of  it  or  not?     Can 
you  avoid  the  precipice  by  shutting  your  eyes  ?     If  you 
discover  your  sin  now,  it  may  be  of  unspeakable  service, 
but  if  you  now  shut  your  eyes  you  must  see  it  hereafter, 
when  it  will  be  too  late ;  when  your  conviction  will  be 
your   punishment.     I  beseech   you  also  to  consider  the 
dreadful  evil  of  your  conduct  in  making  light  of  a  Saviour. 
And   here   I    shall  offer   such   arguments   to  expose  its 
aggravations  as  I  am  sure  cannot  fail  to  convince  and 


240  THE  NATURE  AND  DANGER 

astonish  you,  if  you  act  like  men  of  reason  and  under- 
standing. 

I.  Consider  you  make  light  of  him  who  did  not  make 
light  of  you,  when  you  deserved  his  final  neglect  of  you. 
You  were  worthy  of  nothing  but  contempt  and  abhorrence 
from  him.     As  a  man  you  are  but  a  worm  to  God,  and 
as  a  sinner  you  are  viler  than  a  toad  or  a  serpent.     Yet 
Christ  was  so  far  from  making  light  of  you  that  he  left  his 
native  heaven,  became  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  died  in  the 
most  exquisite  agonies,  that  a  way  might  be  opened  for 
the  salvation  of  your  miserable  soul:  and  can  you  make 
light  of  him  after  all  his  regard  to  you?     What  miracles 
of  love  and  mercy  has  he  shown  towards  you !  and  can 
you   neglect   him  after  all?     Angels,  who  are  less  con- 
cerned in  these  things  than  we,  cannot  but  pry  into  them 
with  delightful  wonder,  1   Peter  i.   12,  and  shall  sinners 
who  have  the  most  intimate  personal  concern  in   them, 
make  light  of  them  ?     This  is  a  crime  more  than  devilish ; 
for  the  devils  never  had  a  Saviour  offered  to  them,  and 
consequently  never  could  despise  him.     And  can  you  live 
in  a  carelessness  of  Christ  all  your  days,  and  yet  feel  no 
remorse  ? 

II.  Consider  you  make  light  of  matters  of  the  greatest 
excellency  and  importance  in  all   the  world.     Oh,  sirs, 
you  know  not  what  it  is  that  you  slight;  had  you  known 
these  things  you  would  not  have  ventured  to  make  light 
of  them  for  ten  thousand  worlds.     As  Christ  said  to  the 
woman  of  Samaria,  If  thou  knewest  the  gift  of  God,  and 
who   it   is,  that  saith   to   thee,  Give  me   to  drink,  thou 
wouldest  have  asked  of  him,  and  he  would  have  given  thee 
living  water.    John  iv.  13.     Had  the  Jews  known,  they 
would  not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of  Glory :  1  Cor.  ii.  8. 
So,  had  you  known  what  Jesus  is,  you  would  not  have 
made  light  of  him;  he  would  have  been  to  you  the  most 


OF    MAKING    LIGHT    OF    CHRIST.  241 

important  being  in  the  universe:  Oh !  had  you  been  but 
one  day  in  heaven,  and  seen  and  felt  the  happiness  there ! 
or  had  you  been  but  one  hour  under  the  agonies  of  hell, 
you  could  never  more  have  trifled  with  salvation. 

Here  I  find  my  thoughts  run  so  naturally  into  the  same 
channel  with  those  of  the  excellent  Mr.  Baxter,  about  a 
hundred  years  ago,  that  you  will  allow  me  to  give  a  long 
quotation  from  him,  that  you  may  see  in  what  light  this 
great  and  good  man  viewed  the  neglected  things  which 
the  gospel  brings  to  your  ears.  His  words  are  these;  and 
I  am  sure  to  me  they  have  been  very  weighty: — 

"Oh,  sirs,  they  are  no  trifles  or  jesting  matters  that  the 
gospel  speaks  of.  I  must  needs  profess  to  you,  that  when 
I  have  the  most  serious  thoughts  of  these  things,  I  am 
ready  to  wonder  that  such  amazing  matters  do  not  over- 
whelm the  souls  of  men :  that  the  greatness  of  the  subject 
doth  not  so  overmatch  our  understandings  and  affections, 
as  even  to  drive  men  beside  themselves,  but  that  God  hath 
always  somewhat  allayed  it  by  distance;  much  more  do  I 
wonder  that  men  should  be  so  blockish  as  to  make  light 
of  such  things.  Oh,  Lord,  that  men  did  but  know  what 
everlasting  glory  and  everlasting  torments  are!  Would 
they  then  hear  us  as  they  do?  would  they  read  and  think 
of  these  things  as  they  do?  I  profess  I  have  been  ready 
to  wonder  when  I  have  heard  such  weighty  things  de- 
livered, how  people  can  forbear  crying  out  in  the  congre- 
gation, and  much  more  do  I  wonder  how  they  can  rest, 
till  they  have  gone  to  their  ministers  and  learned  what 
they  shall  do  to  be  saved,  that  this  great  business  should 
be  put  out  of  doubt.  Oh,  that  heaven  and  hell  should 
work  no  more  upon  men!  Oh,  that  eternity  should 
work  no  more  !  Oh,  how  can  you  forbear  when  you  are 
alone  to  think  with  yourselves  what  it  is  to  be  everlast- 
ingly in  joy  or  torment.  I  wonder  that  such  thoughts  do 

VOL.  I.— 31 


242  THE  NATURE  AND  DANGER 

not  break  your  sleep,  and  that  they  do  not  crowd  into 
your  minds  when  you  are  about  your  labour!  I  wonder 
how  you  can  almost  do  any  thing  else!  How  can  you 
have  any  quietness  in  your  minds?  how  can  you  eat  or 
drink,  or  rest,  till  you  have  got  some  ground  of  everlasting 
consolations?  Is  that  a  man,  or  a  corpse,  that  is  not  af- 
fected with  matters  of  this  moment?  that  can  be  readier 
to  sleep  than  to  tremble,  when  he  hears  how  he  must 
stand  at  the  bar  of  God  ?  Is  that  a  man,  or  a  clod  of  clay, 
that  can  rise  up  and  lie  down  without  being  deeply  affected 
with  his  everlasting  state?  that  can  follow  his  worldly 
business,  and  make  nothing  of  the  great  business  of  salva- 
tion or  damnation,  and  that  when  he  knows  it  is  so  hard 
at  hand?  Truly,  sirs,  when  I  think  of  the  weight  of  the 
matter,  I  wonder  at  the  best  saints  upon  earth,  that  they 
are  no  better,  and  do  no  more  in  so  weighty  a  case.  I 
wonder  at  those  whom  the  world  accounts  more  holy  than 
needs,  and  scorns  for  making  too  much  ado,  that  they  can 
put  off  Christ  and  their  souls  with  so  little;  that  they  do 
not  pour  out  their  souls  in  every  prayer;  that  they  are  not 
more  taken  up  with  God;  that  their  thoughts  are  not  more 
serious  in  preparation  for  their  last  account.  I  wonder 
that  they  are  not  a  thousand  times  more  strict  in  their 
lives,  and  more  laborious  and  unwearied  for  the  crown 
than  they  are.  And  for  myself,  (says  that  zealous, 
flaming,  and  indefatigable  preacher,)  as  I  am  ashamed  of 
my  dull  and  careless  heart,  and  of  my  slow  and  unprofit- 
able course  of  life,  so  the  Lord  knows  I  am  ashamed  of 
every  sermon  that  I  preach :  when  I  think  what  I  am,  and 
who  sent  me,  and  how  much  the  salvation  and  damnation 
of  men  is  concerned  in  it,  I  am  ready  to  tremble,  lest  God 
should  judge  me  as  a  slighter  of  his  truth  and  the  souls  of 
men,  and  lest,  in  my  best  sermon,  I  should  be  guilty  of 
their  blood.  Methinks  we  should  not  speak  a  word  to 


OF    MAKING    LIGHT    OF   CHRIST.  243 

men  in  matters  of  such  consequence  without  tears,  or  the 
greatest  earnestness  that  possibly  we  can.  Were  we  not 
too  much  guilty  of  the  sin  which  we  reprove,  it  would 
be  so.  Whether  we  are  alone  or  in  company,  methinks 
our  end,  and  such  an  end,  should  still  be  in  our  mind, 
and  as  before  our  eyes;  and  we  should  sooner  forget  any 
thing,  or  set  light  by  any  thing,  or  by  all  things,  than  by 
this." 

And  now,  my  brethren,  if  such  a  man  as  this  viewed 
these  things  in  this  light,  oh  what  shall  we,  we  languishing, 
careless  creatures,  what  shall  we  think  of  ourselves  ?  Into 
what  a  dead  sleep  are  we  fallen  !  Oh  let  the  most  active 
and  zealous  among  us  awake,  and  be  a  thousand  times 
more  earnest;  and  ye  frozen-hearted,  careless  sinners, 
for  God's  sake  awake,  and  exert  yourselves  to  good  pur- 
pose in  the  pursuit  of  salvation,  or  you  are  lost  to  all 
eternity. 

III.  Consider  whose  salvation  it  is  you  make  light  of. 
It  is  your  own.     And  do  you  not  care  what  becomes  of 
your  own  selves  ?     Is  it  nothing  to  you  whether  you  are 
saved  or  damned  for  ever  1     Is  the  natural  principle  of 
self-love  extinct  in  you  ?     Have  you  no  concern  for  your 
own  preservation  ?     Are  you  commenced  your  own  ene- 
mies 1     If  you   slight  Christ  and  love  sin,  you  virtually 
love  death,  Prov.  viii.  36.     You  may  as  well  say,  "  I  will 
live  and  yet  neither  eat  nor  drink,"  as  say,  "  I  will  go  to 
heaven,  and  yet  make  light  of  Christ."     And  you  may  as 
well  say  this  in  words  as  by  your  practice. 

IV.  Consider,  your  sin   is  aggravated  by  professing  to 
believe  that  gospel  which   you  make  light  of.     For  a  pro- 
fessed infidel  that  does  not  believe  the  Scripture  revelation 
concerning  Christ  and  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments, for  such  a  one  to  be  careless  about  these  things 
would  not  be  so  strange ;  but  for  you  that  make  these 


244  THE  NATURE  AND  DANGER 

things  your  creed,  and  a  part  of  your  religion,  for  you 
that  call  yourselves  Christians,  and  have  been  baptized 
into  this  faith;  for  you,  I  say,  to  make  light  of  them,  how 
astonishing !  how  utterly  inexcusable  !  What !  believe 
that  you  shall  live  for  ever  in  the  most  perfect  happiness 
or  exquisite  misery,  and  yet  take  no  more  pains  to  obtain 
the  one,  and  escape  the  other  1  What !  believe  that  the 
great  and  dreadful  God  will  shortly  be  your  judge,  and 
yet  make  no  more  preparation  for  it?  Either  say  plainly, 
"  I  am  no  Christian,  I  do  not  believe  these  things ;"  or 
else  let  your  hearts  be  affected  with  your  belief,  and  let  it 
influence  and  govern  your  lives. 

V.  Consider  what  those  things  are  which  engross  your 
affections,  and  which  tempt  you  to  neglect  Christ  and 
your  salvation.  Have  you  found  out  a  better  friend,  or  a 
more  substantial  and  lasting  happiness  than  his  salvation  ? 
Oh !  what  trifles  and  vanities,  what  dreams  and  shadows 
are  men  pursuing,  while  they  neglect  the  important  reali- 
ties of  the  eternal  world !  If  crowns  and  kingdoms,  if  all 
the  riches,  glories,  and  pleasures  of  the  world  were  en- 
sured to  you  as  a  reward  for  making  light  of  Christ,  you 
would  even  then  make  the  most  foolish  bargain  possible ; 
for  what  are  these  in  the  scale  to  eternal  joy  or  eternal 
tempest  ?  and  what  is  a  man  profited,  if  he  shall  gain  even 
the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul?  Matt.  xvi.  26. 
But  you  cannot  hope  for  the  ten  thousandth  part;  and 
will  you  cast  away  your  souls  for  this  ?  You  that  think 
it  such  a  great  thing  to  live  in  riches,  pleasures,  and  hon- 
ours, consider,  is  it  such  a  mighty  happiness  to  die  rich  ? 
to  die  after  a  life  of  pleasure  and  honour  ?  Will  it  be 
such  a  great  happiness  to  give  an  account  for  the  life  of  a 
rich  sensualist,  rather  than  of  a  poor  mortified  creature  ? 
Will  Dives  then  be  so  much  happier  than  Lazarus  ?  Alas ! 
what  does  the  richest,  the  highest,  the  most  voluptuous 


OF    MAKING    LIGHT    OF    CHRIST.  245 

sinner,  what  does  he  do,  but  lay  up  treasures  of  wrath 
against  the  day  of  wrath?  Oh  how  will  the  unhappy 
creatures  torture  themselves  for  ever  with  the  most  cutting 
reflections  for  selling  their  Saviour  and  their  souls  for  such 
trifles  !  Let  your  sins  and  earthly  enjoyments  save  you 
then,  if  they  can ;  let  them  then  do  that  for  you  which 
Christ  would  have  done  for  you  if  you  had  chosen  him. 
Then  go  and  cry  to  the  gods  you  have  chosen ;  let  them 
deliver  you  in  the  day  of  your  tribulation. 

VI.  Your  making  light  of  Christ  and  salvation  is  a 
certain  evidence  that  you  have   no  interest  in  them. — 
Christ  will  not  throw  himself  and  his  blessings  away  upon 
those  who  do  not  value  them.     "  Those  that  honour  him 
he  will  honour;  but  they  that  despise  him  shall  be  lightly 
esteemed,"  1  Sam.  ii.  30.     There  is  a  day  coming,  when 
you  will  feel  you  cannot  do  without  him ;  when  you  will 
feel  yourselves  perishing  for  want  of  a  Saviour ;  and  then 
you  may  go  and  look  for  a  Saviour  where  you  will ;  then 
may  you  shift  for  yourselves  as  you  can ;  he  will  have  no- 
thing to  do  with  you ;  the  Saviour  of  sinners  will  cast  you 
off  for  ever.     I  tell  you,  sirs,  whatever  estimate  you  form 
of  all  these  things,  God  thinks  very  highly  of  the  blood 
of  his  Son,  and  the  blessings  of  his  purchase ;  and  if  ever 
you  obtain  them,  he  will  have  you  think  highly  of  them 
too.     If  you  continue  to  make  light  of  them,  all  the 
world  cannot  save  you.     And  can  you  find  fault  with 
God  for  denying  you  that  which  was  so  little  in  your  ac- 
count ? 

VII.  And  lastly,  the  time  is  hastening  when  you  will 
not  think  so  slightly  of  Christ  and  salvation.     Oh,   sirs, 
when   God   shall  commission  death  to  tear  your  guilty 
souls  out  of  your  bodies,  when  devils  shall  drag  you  away 
to  the  place  of  torment,  when  you  find  yourselves  con- 
demned to  everlasting  fire  by  that  Saviour  whom  you  now 


246  THE  NATURE  AND  DANGER 

neglect,  what  would  you  then  give  for  a  Saviour  ?  when 
divine  justice  brings  in  its  heavy  charges  against  you,  and 
you  have  nothing  to  answer,  how  will  you  then  cry,  "  Oh 
if  I  had  chosen  Jesus  for  my  Saviour,  he  would  have  an- 
swered all !"  When  you  see  that  the  world  has  deserted 
you,  that  your  companions  in  sin  have  deceived  them- 
selves and  you,  and  all  your  merry  days  are  over  for  ever, 
would  you  not  then  give  ten  thousand  worlds  for  Christ  ? 
And  will  you  not  now  think  him  worthy  of  your  esteem 
and  earnest  pursuit  ?  Why  will  ye  judge  of  things  now 
quite  the  reverse  of  what  you  will  do  then  when  you  will 
be  more  capable  of  judging  rightly  ? 

And  now,  dear  immortal  souls !  I  have  discovered  the 
nature  and  danger  of  this  common  but  unsuspected  and 
unlamented  sin,  making  light  of  Christ.  I  have  delivered 
my  message,  and  now  I  must  leave  it  with  you,  imploring 
the  blessing  of  God  upon  it.  I  cannot  follow  you  home 
to  your  houses  to  see  what  effect  it  has  upon  you,  or  to 
make  application  of  it  to  each  of  you  in  particular ;  but 
oh,  may  your  consciences  undertake  this  office !  When- 
ever you  spend  another  prayerless,  thoughtless  day,  when- 
ever you  give  yourselves  up  to  sinful  pleasures,  or  an 
over-eager  pursuit  of  the  world,  may  your  conscience  be- 
come your  preacher,  and  sting  you  with  this  expostulation : 
"  Alas  !  is  this  the  effect  of  all  I  have  heard  ?  Do  I  still 
make  light  of  Christ  and  the  concerns  of  religion  ?  Oh 
what  will  be  the  end  of  such  conduct !" 

I  cannot  but  fear,  after  all,  that  some  of  you,  as  usual, 
will  continue  careless  and  impenitent.  Well,  when  you 
are  suffering  the  punishment  of  this  sin  in  hell,  remember 
that  you  were  warned,  and  acquit  me  from  being  accessary 
to  your  ruin.  And  when  we  all  appear  before  the  su- 
preme Judge,  and  I  am  called  to  give  an  account  of  my 
ministry :  when  I  am  asked,  "  Did  you  warn  these  crea- 


OF   MAKING    LIGHT    OF    CHRIST.  247 

tures  of  their  danger  ?  Did  you  lay  before  them  their 
guilt  in  making  light  of  these  things  ?"  you  will  allow  me 
to  answer,  "  Yes,  Lord,  I  warned  them  in  the  best  manner 
I  could,  but  they  would  not  believe  me ;  they  would  not 
regard  what  I  said,  though  enforced  by  the  authority  of 
thy  awful  name,  and  confirmed  by  thine  own  word."  Oh 
sirs,  must  I  give  in  this  accusation  against  any  of  you  ? 
No,  rather  have  mercy  on  yourselves,  and  have  mercy 
upon  me,  that  I  may  give  an  account  of  you  with  joy,  and 
not  with  grief. 


248  THE    COMPASSION    OF    CHRIST 


SERMON  VIII. 

THE    COMPASSION    OF    CHRIST    TO    WEAK    BELIEVERS. 

MATT.  xn.  20. — A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,  and 
smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench. 

THE  Lord  Jesus  possesses  all  those  virtues  in  the  highest 
perfection,  which  render  him  infinitely  amiable,  and  qualify 
him  for  the  administration  of  a  just  and  gracious  govern- 
ment over  the  world.  The  virtues  of  mortals,  when  car- 
ried to  a  high  degree,  very  often  run  into  those  vices  which 
have  a  kind  of  affinity  to  them.  "  Right,  too  rigid,  hardens 
into  wrong."  Strict  justice  steels  itself  into  excessive 
severity ;  and  the  man  is  lost  in  the  judge.  Goodness  and 
mercy  sometimes  degenerate  into  softness  and  an  irrational 
compassion  inconsistent  with  government.  But  in  Jesus 
Christ  these  seemingly  opposite  virtues  centre  and  har- 
monize in  the  highest  perfection,  without  running  into 
extremes.  Hence  he  is  at  once  characterized  as  a  Lamb, 
and  as  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah :  a  lamb  for  gentle- 
ness towards  humble  penitents,  and  a  lion  to  tear  his  ene- 
mies in  pieces.  Christ  is  said  to  judge  and  make  war, 
Rev.  xix.  11;  and  yet  he  is  called  The  Prince  of  Peace; 
Isa.  ix.  6.  He  will  at  length  show  himself  terrible  to  the 
workers  of  iniquity;  and  the  terrors  of  the  Lord  are  a  very 
proper  topic  whence  to  persuade  men;  but  now  he  is 
patient  towards  all  men,  and  he  is  all  love  and  tenderness 
towards  the  meanest  penitent.  The  meekness  and  gentle- 
ness of  Christ  is  to  be  the  pleasing  entertainment  of  this 


TO    WEAK    BELIEVERS.  249 

day ;  and  I  enter  upon  it  with  a  particular  view  to  those 
mourning,  desponding  souls  among  us,  whose  weakness 
renders  them  in  great  need  of  strong  consolation.  To 
such,  in  particular,  I  address  the  words  of  my  text,  A 
bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,  and  smoking  flax  shall  he 
not  quench. 

This  is  a  part  of  the  Redeemer's  character,  as  delineated 
near  three  thousand  years  ago,  by  the  evangelical  prophet 
Isaiah ;  Isa.  xlii.  1-4 ;  and  it  is  expressly  applied  to  him 
by  St.  Mathew :  Behold,  says  the  Father,  my  servant  whom 
I  have  chosen  for  the  important  undertaking  of  saving  the 
guilty  sons  of  men ;  "  my  Beloved,  in  whom  my  soul  is 
well  pleased ;"  my  very  soul  is  well  pleased  with  his  faith- 
ful discharge  of  the  important  office  he  has  undertaken.  I 
will  put  my  spirit  upon  him;  that  is,  I  will  completely 
furnish  him  by  the  gifts  of  my  spirit  for  his  high  character  ; 
and  he  shall  show  judgment  to  the  Gentiles  ;  to  the  poor 
benighted  Gentiles  he  shall  show  the  light  of  salvation,  by 
revealing  the  gospel  to  them ;  which,  in  the  style  of  the 
Old  Testament,  may  be  called  his  judgments.  Or,  he 
will  show  and  execute  the  judgment  of  this  world  by  cast- 
ing out  its  infernal  prince,  who  had  so  long  exercised  an 
extensive  cruel  tyranny  over  it.  He  shall  not  strive  nor 
cry,  neither  shall  any  man  hear  his  voice  in  the  streets ; 
that  is,  though  he  enters  the  world  as  a  mighty  prince  and 
conqueror,  to  establish  a  kingdom  of  righteousness,  and 
overthrow  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  yet  he  will  not  intro- 
duce it  with  the  noisy  terrors  and  thunders  of  war,  but 
shall  show  himself  mild  and  gentle  as  the  prince  of  peace. 
Or  the  connection  may  lead  us  to  understand  these  words 
in  a  different  sense,  namely,  He  shall  do  nothing  with 
clamorous  ostentation,  nor  proclaim  his  wonderful  works, 
when  it  shall  answer  no  valuable  end.  Accordingly  the 
verse  of  our  text  stands  thus  connected :  Great  multitudes 

VOL.  I.— 32 


250  THE    COMPASSION    OF    CHRIST 

followed  him;  and  he  healed  them  all,  and  charged  them 
that  they  should  not  make  him  known.  That  it  might  be 
fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  Isaiah  the  prophet,  saying, — 
He  shall  not  cry,  neither  shall  any  man  hear  his  voice  in 
the  streets  ;  that  is,  he  shall  not  publish  his  miracles  with 
noisy  triumphs  in  the  streets  and  other  public  places. 
And  when  it  is  said,  He  shall  not  strive,  it  may  refer  to  his 
inoffensive  passive  behaviour  towards  his  enemies  that 
were  plotting  his  death.  For  thus  we  may  connect  this 
quotation  from  Isaiah  with  the  preceding  history  in  the 
chapter  of  our  text :  Then  the  Pharisees  went  out,  and  held 
a  council  against  him,  how  they  might  destroy  him.  But 
when  Jesus  hnew  it,  instead  of  praying  to  his  Father  for  a 
guard  of  angels,  or  employing  his  own  miraculous  power 
to  destroy  them,  he  withdrew  himself  from  thence  ;  that  it 
might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet  Isaiah, 
saying, — He  shall  not  strive. 

The  general  meaning  of  my  text  seems  to  be  contained 
in  this  observation :  "  That  the  Lord  Jesus  has  the  ten- 
derest  and  most  compassionate  regard  to  the  feeblest  peni- 
tents, however  oppressed  and  desponding;  and  that  he  will 
approve  and  cherish  the  least  spark  of  true  love  towards 
himself. 

A  bruised  reed  seems  naturally  to  represent  a  soul  at 
once  feeble  in  itself,  and  crushed  with  a  burden;  a  soul 
both  weak  and  oppressed.  The  reed  is  a  slender,  frail 
vegetable  in  itself,  and  therefore  a  very  proper  image  to 
represent  a  soul  that  is  feeble  and  weak.  A  bruised  reed 
is  still  more  frail,  hangs  its  head,  and  is  unable  to  stand 
without  some  prop.  And  what  can  be  a  more  lively  em- 
blem of  a  poor  soul,  not  only  weak  in  itself,  but  bowed 
down  and  broken  under  a  load  of  sin  and  sorrow,  that 
droops  and  sinks,  and  is  unable  to  stand  without  divine 
support?  Strength  may  bear  up  under  a  burden,  or 


TO    WEAK    BELIEVERS.  251 

struggle  with  it,  till  it  has  thrown  it  off;  but  oppressed 
weakness,  frailty  under  a  burden,  what  can  be  more  pitia- 
ble ?  and  yet  this  is  the  case  of  many  a  poor  penitent. 
He  is  weak  in  himself,  and  in  the  meantime  crushed  under 
a  heavy  weight  of  guilt  and  distress. 

And  what  would  become  of  such  a  frail  oppressed  crea- 
ture, if,  instead  of  raising  him  up  and  supporting  him, 
Jesus  should  tread  and  crush  him  under  the  foot  of  his 
indignation  ?  But  though  a  reed,  especially  a  bruised 
reed,  is  an  insignificant  thing,  of  little  or  no  use,  yet  "  a 
bruised  reed  he  will  not  break,"  but  he  raises  it  up  with  a 
gentle  hand,  and  enables  it  to  stand,  though  weak  in  itself, 
and  easily  crushed  in  ruin. 

Perhaps  the  imagery,  when  drawn  at  length,  may  be 
this :  "  The  Lord  Jesus  is  an  Almighty  Conqueror, 
marches  in  state  through  our  world ;  and  here  and  there 
a  bruised  reed  lies  in  his  way.  But  instead  of  disregard- 
ing it,  or  trampling  it  under  foot,  he  takes  care  not  to 
break  it:  he  raises  up  the  drooping  straw,  trifling  as  it  is 
and  supports  it  with  his  gentle  hand."  Thus,  poor  broken- 
hearted penitents,  thus  he  takes  care  of  you,  and  supports 
you,  worthless  and  trifling  as  you  are.  Though  you  seem 
to  lie  in  the  way  of  his  justice,  and  it  might  tread  you  with 
its  heavy  foot,  yet  he  not  only  does  not  crush  you,  but 
takes  you  up,  and  inspires  you  with  strength  to  bear  your 
burden  and  flourish  again. 

Or  perhaps  the  imagery  may  be  derived  from  the  prac- 
tice of  the  ancient  shepherds,  who  were  wont  to  amuse 
themselves  with  the  music  of  a  pipe  of  reed  or  straw ;  and 
when  it  was  bruised  they  broke  it,  or  threw  it  away  as 
useless.  But  the  bruised  reed  shall  not  be  broken  by  this 
divine  Shepherd  of  souls.  The  music  of  broken  sighs  and 
groans  is  indeed  all  that  the  broken  reed  can  afford  him : 
the  notes  are  but  low,  melancholy,  and  jarring  :  and  yet  he 


252  THE    COMPASSION    OF    CHRIST 

will  not  break  the  instrument,  but  he  will  repair  and  tune 
it,  till  it  is  fit  to  join  in  the  concert  of  angels  on  high ;  and 
even  now  its  humble  strains  are  pleasing  to  his  ears. 
Surely  every  broken  heart  among  us  must  revive,  while 
contemplating  this  tender  and  moving  imagery. 

The  other  emblem  is  equally  significant  and  affecting. 
The  smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench.  It  seems  to  be  an 
allusion  to  the  wick  of  a  candle  or  lamp,  the  flame  of 
which  is  put  out,  but  it  still  smokes,  and  retains  a  little  fire 
which  may  be  again  blown  into  a  flame,  or  rekindled  by 
the  application  of  more  fire.  Many  such  dying  snuffs  or 
smoking  wicks  are  to  be  found  in  the  candlesticks  of  the 
churches,  and  in  the  lamps  of  the  sanctuary.  The  flame 
of  divine  love  is  just  expiring,  it  is  sunk  into  the  socket  of 
a  corrupt  heart,  and  produces  no  clear,  steady  blaze,  but 
only  a  smoke  that  is  disagreeable,  although  it  shows  that  a 
spark  of  the  sacred  fire  yet  remains ;  or  it  produces  a  faint 
quivering  flame  that  dies  away,  then  catches  and  revives, 
and  seems  unwilling  to  be  quenched  entirely.  The  devil 
and  the  world  raise  many  storms  of  temptation  to  blow  it 
out ;  and  a  corrupt  heart,  like  a  fountain,  pours  out  water 
to  quench  it.  But  even  this  smoking  flax,  this  dying  snuff, 
Jesus  will  not  quench,  but  he  blows  it  up  into  a  flame,  and 
pours  in  the  oil  of  his  grace  to  recruit  and  nourish  it.  He 
walks  among  the  golden  candlesticks,  and  trims  the  lamps 
of  his  sanctuary.  Where  he  finds  empty  vessels  without 
oil  or  a  spark  of  heavenly  fire,  like  those  of  the  foolish 
virgins,  he  breaks  the  vessels,  or  throws  them  out  of  his 
house.  But  where  he  finds  the  least  spark  of  true  grace, 
where  he  discovers  but  the  glimpse  of  sincere  love  to  him, 
where  he  sees  the  principle  of  true  piety,  which,  though 
just  expiring,  yet  renders  the  heart  susceptive  of  divine 
love,  as  a  candle  just  put  out  is  easily  rekindled,  there  he 
will  strengthen  the  things  which  remain  and  are  ready  to 


TO    WEAk    BELIEVERS.  253 

die  :  he  will  blow  up  the  dying  snuff  to  a  lively  flame,  and 
cause  it  to  shine  brighter  and  brighter  to  the  perfect  day. 
Where  there  is  the  least  principle  of  true  holiness  he  will 
cherish  it.  He  will  furnish  the  expiring  lamp  with  fresh 
supplies  of  the  oil  of  grace,  and  of  heavenly  fire ;  and  all 
the  storms  that  beat  upon  it  shall  not  be  able  to  put  it  out, 
because  sheltered  by  his  hand. 

I  hope,  my  dear  brethren,  some  of  you  begin  already  to 
feel  the  pleasing  energy  of  this  text.  Are  you  not  ready 
to  say,  "  Blessed  Jesus  !  is  this  thy  true  character  1  Then 
thou  art  just  such  a  Saviour  as  I  want,  and  I  most  willingly 
give  up  myself  to  thee."  You  are  sensible  you  are  at  best 
but  a  bruised  reed,  a  feeble,  shattered,  useless  thing :  an 
untunable,  broken  pipe  of  straw,  that  can  make  no  proper 
music  for  the  entertainment  of  your  divine  Shepherd. 
Your  heart  is  at  best  but  smoking  flax,  where  the  love  of 
God  often  appears  like  a  dying  snuff;  or  an  expiring  flame 
that  quivers  and  catches,  and  hovers  over  the  lamp,  just 
ready  to  go  out.  Such  some  of  you  probably  feel  your- 
selves to  be.  Well,  and  what  think  ye  of  Christ?  "  He 
will  not  break  the  bruised  reed,  nor  quench  the  smoking 
flax ;"  and  therefore,  may  not  even  your  guilty  eyes  look 
to  this  gentle  Saviour  with  encouraging  hope?  May  you 
not  say  to  him,  with  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel,  in  his  last 
moment,  He  is  all  my  salvation,  and  all  my  desire  ?  2  Sam. 
xxiii.  5. 

In  prosecuting  this  subject  I  intend  to  illustrate  the  cha- 
racter of  a  weak  believer,  as  represented  in  my  text,  and 
then  to  illustrate  the  care  and  compassion  of  Jesus  Christ 
even  for  such  a  poor  weakling. 

I.  I  am  to  illustrate  the  character  of  a  weak  believer, 
as  represented  in  my  text,  by  "  a  bruised  reed,  and  smok- 
ing flax." 

The  metaphor  of  a  bruised  reed,  as  I  observed,  seems 


254  THE   COMPASSION    OF    CHRIST 

most  naturally  to  convey  the  idea  of  a  state  of  weakness 
and  oppression.  And,  therefore,  in  illustrating  it  I  am 
naturally  led  to  describe  the  various  weaknesses  which  a 
believer  sometimes  painfully  feels,  and  to  point  out  the 
heavy  burdens  which  he  sometimes  groans  under;  I  say 
sometimes,  for  at  other  times  even  the  weak  believer  finds 
himself  strong,  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of 
his  might,  and  strengthened  with  might  by  the  Spirit  in 
the  inner  man.  The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  his  strength:  and 
he  "  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  strengthening  him." 
Even  the  oppressed  believer  at  times  feels  himself  de- 
livered from  his  burden,  and  he  can  lift  up  his  drooping 
head,  and  walk  upright.  But,  alas !  the  burden  returns, 
and  crushes  him  again.  And  under  some  burden  or  other 
many  honest-hearted  believers  groan  out  the  most  part  of 
their  lives. 

Let  us  now  see  what  are  those  weaknesses  which  a  be- 
liever feels  and  laments.  He  finds  himself  weak  in  know- 
ledge ;  a  simple  child  in  the  knowledge  of  God  and  divine 
things.  He  is  weak  in  love ;  the  sacred  flame  does  not 
rise  with  a  perpetual  fervour,  and  diffuse  itself  through  all 
his  devotions,  but  at  times  it  languishes  and  dies  away  into 
a  smoking  snuff.  He  is  weak  in  faith ;  he  cannot  keep  a 
strong  hold  of  the  Almighty,  cannot  suspend  his  all  upon 
his  promises  with  cheerful  confidence,  nor  build  a  firm, 
immovable  fabric  of  hope  upon  the  rock  Jesus  Christ. 
He  is  weak  in  hope ;  his  hope  is  dashed  with  rising  bil- 
lows of  fears  and  jealousies,  and  sometimes  just  overset. 
He  is  weak  in  joy ;  he  cannot  extract  the  sweets  of  Chris- 
tianity, nor  taste  the  comforts  of  his  religion.  He  is  weak 
in  zeal  for  God  and  the  interests  of  his  kingdom ;  he  would 
wish  himself  always  a  flaming  seraph,  always  glowing  with 
zeal,  always  unwearied  in  serving  his  God,  and  promoting 
the  designs  of  redeeming  love  in  the  world ;  but,  alas !  at 


TO    WEAK    BELIEVERS.  255 

times  his  zeal,  with  his  love,  languishes  and  dies  away  into 
a  smoking  snuff.  He  is  weak  in  repentance;  troubled 
with  that  plague  of  plagues,  a  hard  heart.  He  is  weak  in 
the  conflict  with  indwelling  sin,  that  is  perpetually  making 
insurrections  within  him.  He  is  weak  in  resisting  tempta- 
tions; which  crowd  upon  him  from  without,  and  are  often 
likely  to  overwhelm  him.  He  is  weak  in  courage  to  en- 
counter the  king  of  terrors,  and  venture  through  the  val- 
ley of  the  shadow  of  death.  He  is  weak  in  prayer,  in 
importunity,  in  filial  boldness,  in  approaching  the  mercy- 
seat.  He  is  weak  in  abilities  to  endeavour  the  conversion 
of  sinners  and  save  souls  from  death.  In  short,  he  is  weak 
in  every  thing  in  which  he  should  be  strong.  He  has  in- 
deed, like  the  church  of  Philadelphia,  a  little  strength, 
Rev.  iii.  8,  and  at  times  he  feels  it ;  but  oh !  it  seems  to 
him  much  too  little  for  the  work  he  has  to  do.  These 
weaknesses  or  defects  the  believer  feels,  painfully  and  ten- 
derly feels,  and  bitterly  laments.  A  sense  of  them  keeps 
him  upon  his  guard  against  temptations  :  he  is  not  venture- 
some in  rushing  into  the  combat.  He  would  not  parley 
with  temptation,  but  would  keep  out  of  its  way;  nor 
would  he  run  the  risk  of  a  defeat  by  an  ostentatious  expe- 
riment of  his  strength.  This  sense  of  weakness  also  keeps 
him  dependent  upon  divine  strength.  He  clings  to  that 
support  given  to  St.  Paul  in  an  hour  of  hard  conflict,  My 
grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  ;  for  my  strength  is  made  perfect 
in  weakness  ;  and  when  a  sense  of  his  weakness  has  this 
happy  effect  upon  him,  then  with  St.  Paul  he  has  reason 
to  say,  When  I  am  weak,  then  I  am  strong.  2  Cor.  xii. 
9,  10. 

I  say  the  believer  feels  and  laments  these  weaknesses ; 
and  this  is  the  grand  distinction  in  this  case  between  him 
and  the  rest  of  the  world.  They  are  the  weak  too,  much 
weaker  than  he;  nay,  they  have,  properly,  no  spiritual 


256  THE   COMPASSION    OF   CHRIST. 

strength  at  all ;  but,  alas !  they  do  not  feel  their  weakness, 
but  the  poor  vain  creatures  boast  of  their  strength,  and 
think  they  can  do  great  things  when  they  are  disposed  for 
them.  Or  if  their  repeated  falls  and  defeats  by  tempta- 
tion extort  them  to  a  confession  of  their  weakness,  they 
plead  it  rather  as  an  excuse,  than  lament  it  as  at  once  a 
crime  and  a  calamity.  But  the  poor  believer  tries  no 
such  artifice  to  extenuate  his  guilt.  He  is  senible  that 
even  his  weakness  itself  has  guilt  in  it,  and  therefore  he 
laments  it  with  ingenuous  sorrow  among  his  other  sins. 

Now,  have  I  not  delineated  the  very  character  of  some 
of  you ;  such  weaklings,  such  frail  reeds  you  feel  your- 
selves to  be  ?  Well,  hear  this  kind  assurance,  "  Jesus  will 
not  break  such  a  feeble  reed,  but  he  will  support  and 
strengthen  it." 

But  you  perhaps  not  only  feel  you  are  weak,  but  you 
are  oppressed  with  some  heavy  burden  or  other.  You 
are  not  only  a  reed  for  weakness,  but  you  are  a  bruised 
reed,  trodden  under  foot,  crushed  under  a  load.  Even 
this  is  no  unusual  or  discouraging  case ;  for, 

The  weak  believer  often  feels  himself  crushed  under 
some  heavy  burden.  The  frail  reed  is  often  bruised; 
bruised  under  a  due  sense  of  guilt.  Guilt  lies  heavy  at 
times  upon  his  conscience,  and  he  cannot  throw  it  off. 
Bruised  with  a  sense  of  remaining  sin,  which  he  finds  still 
strong  within  him,  and  which  at  times  prevails,  and  treads 
him  under  foot.  Bruised  under  a  burden  of  wants,  the 
want  of  tenderness  of  heart,  of  ardent  love  to  God  and 
mankind,  the  want  of  heavenly-mindedness  and  victory 
over  the  world ;  the  want  of  conduct  and  resolution  to 
direct  his  behaviour  in  a  passage  so  intricate  and  difficult, 
and  the  want  of  nearer  intercourse  with  the  Father  and 
his  Spirit :  in  short,  a  thousand  pressing  wants  crush  and 
bruise  him.  He  also  feels  his  share  of  the  calamities  of 


TO    WEAK    BELIEVERS.  257 

life  in  common  with  other  men.  But  these  burdens  I 
shall  take  no  farther  notice  of,  because  they  are  not  pecu- 
liar to  him  as  a  believer,  nor  do  they  lie  heaviest  upon  his 
heart.  He  could  easily  bear  up  under  the  calamities  of 
life  if  his  spiritual  wants  were  supplied,  and  the  burden 
of  guilt  and  sin  were  removed.  Under  these  last  he 
groans  and  sinks.  Indeed  these  burdens  lie  with  all  their 
full  weight  upon  the  world  around  him ;  but  they  are  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins,  and  feel  them  not :  they  do  not  groan 
under  them,  nor  labour  for  deliverance  from  them.  They 
lie  contented  under  them,  with  more  stupidity  than  beasts 
of  burden,  till  they  sink  under  the  intolerable  load  into  the 
depth  of  misery.  But  the  poor  believer  is  not  so  stupid, 
and  his  tender  heart  feels  the  burden  and  groans  under  it. 
We  that  are  in  this  tabernacle,  says  St.  Paul,  do  groan, 
being  burdened.  2  Cor.  *v.  4.  The  believer  understands 
feelingly  that  pathetic  exclamation,  0  wretched  man  that  I 
am  !  Who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ? 
Rom.  vii.  24.  He  cannot  be  easy  till  his  conscience  is  ap- 
peased by  a  well-attested  pardon  through  the  blood  of 
Christ;  and  the  sins  he  feels  working  within  him  are  a 
real  burden  and  uneasiness  to  him,  though  they  should 
never  break  out  into  action,  and  publicly  dishonour  his 
holy  profession. 

And  is  not  this  the  very  character  of  some  poor  op- 
pressed creatures  among  you?  I  hope  it  is.  You  may 
look  upon  your  case  to  be  very  discouraging,  but  Jesus 
looks  upon  it  in  a  more  favourable  light ;  he  looks  upon 
you  as  proper  objects  of  his  compassionate  care.  Bruised 
as  you  are,  he  will  bind  up,  and  support  you. 

II.  But  I  proceed  to  take  a  view  of  the  character  of  a 
weak  Christian,  as  represented  in  the  other  metaphor  in 
my  text,  namely,  smoking  flax.  The  idea  most  naturally 
conveyed  by  this  metaphor  is,  that  of  grace  true  and  sin- 

VOL.  I.— 33 


258  THE    COMPASSION    OF    CHRIST 

cere,  but  languishing  and  just  expiring,  like  a  candle  just 
blown  out,  which  still  smokes  and  retains  a  feeble  spark 
of  fire.  It  signifies  a  susceptibility  of  a  farther  grace,  or 
a  readiness  to  catch  that  sacred  fire,  as  a  candle  just  put 
out  is  easily  re-kindled.  This  metaphor  therefore  leads 
me  to  describe  the  reality  of  religion  in  a  low  degree,  or 
to  delineate  the  true  Christian  in  his  most  languishing 
hours.  And  in  so  doing  I  shall  mention  those  disposi- 
tions and  exercises  which  the  weakest  Christian  feels,  even 
in  these  melancholy  seasons;  for  even  in  these  he  widely 
differs  still  from  the  most  polished  hypocrite  in  his  highest 
improvements.  On  this  subject  let  me  solicit  your  most 
serious  attention ;  for,  if  you  have  the  least  spark  of  real 
religion  within  you,  you  are  now  likely  to  discover  it,  as  I 
am  not  going  to  rise  to  the  high  attainments  of  Christians 
of  the  first  rank,  but  to  stoop  to  the  character  of  the  mean- 
est. Now  the  peculiar  dispositions  and  exercises  of  heart 
which  such  in  some  measure  feel,  you  may  discover  from 
the  following  short  history  of  their  case. 

The  weak  Christian  in  such  languishing  hours  does  in- 
deed sometimes  fall  into  such  a  state  of  carelessness  and 
insensibility,  that  he  has  very  few  and  but  superficial  exer- 
cises of  mind  about  divine  things.  But  generally  he  feels 
an  uneasiness,  an  emptiness,  an  anxiety  within,  under 
which  he  droops  and  pines  away,  and  all  the  world  cannot 
heal  the  disease !  He  has  chosen  the  blessed  God  as  his 
supreme  happiness ;  and,  when  he  cannot  derive  happiness 
from  that  source,  all  the  sweets  of  created  enjoyments  be- 
come insipid  to  him,  and  cannot  fill  up  the  prodigious  void 
which  the  absence  of  the  Supreme  Good  leaves  in  his  crav- 
ing soul.  Sometimes  his  anxiety  is  indistinct  and  con- 
fused, and  he  hardly  knows  what  ails  him;  but  at  other 
times  he  feels  it  is  for  God,  the  living  God,  that  his  soul 
pants.  The  evaporations  of  this  smoking  flax  naturally 


TO    WEAK    BELIEVERS. 

ascend  towards  heaven.  He  knows  that  he  never  can  be 
happy  till  he  can  enjoy  the  communications  of  divine  love. 
Let  him  turn  which  way  he  will,  he  can  find  no  solid  ease, 
no  rest,  till  he  comes  to  this  centre  again. 

Even  at  such  times  he  cannot  be  thoroughly  reconciled 
to  his  sins.  He  may  be  parleying  with  some  of  them  in 
an  unguarded  hour,  and  seem  to  be  negotiating  a  peace ; 
but  the  truce  is  soon  ended,  and  they  are  at  variance  again. 
The  enmity  of  a  renewed  heart  soon  rises  against  this  old 
enemy.  And  there  is  this  circumstance  remarkable  in  the 
believer's  hatred  and  opposition  to  sin,  that  they  do  not 
proceed  principally,  much  less  entirely,  from  a  fear  of 
punishment,  but  from  a  generous  sense  to  its  instrinsic 
baseness  and  ingratitude,  and  its  contrariety  to  the  holy 
nature  of  God.  This  is  the  ground  of  his  hatred  to  sin,  and 
sorrow  for  it ;  and  this  shows  that  there  is  at  least  a  spark 
of  true  grace  in  his  heart,  and  that  he  does  not  act  altogether 
from  the  low,  interested,  and  mercenary  principles  of  nature. 

At  such  times  he  is  very  jealous  of  the  sincerity  of  his 
religion,  afraid  that  all  his  past  experiences  were  delusive, 
and  afraid  that,  if  he  should  die  in  his  present  state,  he 
would  be  for  ever  miserable.  A  very  anxious  state  is  this ! 

The  stupid  world  can  lie  secure  while  this  grand  con- 
cern lies  in  the  most  dreadful  suspense.  But  the  tender- 
hearted believer  is  not  capable  of  such  fool-hardiness:  he 
shudders  at  the  thought  of  everlasting  separation  from  that 
God  and  Saviour  whom  he  loves.  He  loves  him,  and 
therefore  the  fear  of  separation  from  him,  fills  him  with  all 
the  anxiety  of  bereaved  love.  This  to  him  is  the  most 
painful  ingredient  of  the  punishment  of  hell.  Hell  would 
be  a  sevenfold  hell  to  a  lover  of  God,  because  it  is  a  state 
of  banishment  from  him  whom  he  loves.  He  could  for 
ever  languish  and  pine  away  under  the  consuming  dis- 
tresses of  widowed  love,  which  those  that  love  him  cannot 


260  THE    COMPASSION    OF    CHRIST 

feel.  And  has  God  kindled  the  sacred  flame  in  his  heart 
in  order  to  render  him  capable  of  the  more  exquisite  pain  ? 
Will  he  exclude  from  his  presence  the  poor  creature  that 
clings  to  him,  and  languishes  for  him  ?  No,  the  flax  that 
does  but  smoke  with  his  love  was  never  intended  to  be 
fuel  for  hell ;  but  he  will  blow  it  up  into  a  flame,  and  nour- 
ish it  till  it  mingles  with  the  seraphic  ardours  in  the  region 
of  perfect  love. 

The  weak  believer  seems  sometimes  driven  by  the  tem- 
pest of  lusts  and  temptation  from  off  the  rock  of  Jesus 
Christ.  But  he  makes  towards  it  on  the  stormy  billows, 
and  labours  to  lay  hold  upon  it,  and  recover  his  station 
there ;  for  he  is  sensible  there  is  no  other  foundation  of 
safety;  but  that  without  Christ  he  must  perish  for  ever. 
It  is  the  habitual  disposition  of  the  believer's  soul  to  de- 
pend upon  Jesus  Christ  alone.  He  retains  a  kind  of 
direction  or  tendency  towards  him,  like  the  needle  touched 
with  the  load-stone  towards  the  pole ;  and,  if  his  heart  is 
turned  from  its  course,  it  trembles  and  quivers  till  it  gains 
its  favourite  point  again,  and  fixes  there.  Sometimes,  in- 
deed, a  consciousness  of  guilt  renders  him  shy  of  his  God 
and  Saviour ;  and  after  such  base  ingratitude  he  is  ashamed 
to  go  to  him :  but  at  length  necessity  as  well  as  inclina- 
tion constrains  him,  and  he  is  obliged  to  cry  out,  Lord,  to 
whom  shall  I  go  ?  thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life. 
John  vi.  68.  "In  thee  alone  I  find  rest  to  my  soul;  and 
therefore  to  thee  I  must  fly,  though  I  am  ashamed  and 
confounded  to  appear  in  thy  presence." 

In  short,  the  weakest  Christian  upon  earth  sensibly  feels 
that  his  comfort  rises  and  falls,  as  he  lives  nearer  to  or 
farther  from  his  God.  The  love  of  God  has  such  an 
habitual  predominancy  even  in  his  heart,  that  nothing  in  the 
world,  nor  even  all  the  world  together,  can  fill  up  his 
place.  No,  when  he  is  gone,  heaven  and  earth  cannot  re- 


TO    WEAK    BELIEVERS.  261 

plenlsh  the  mighty  void.  Even  the  weakest  Christian 
upon  earth  longs  to  be  delivered  from  sin,  from  all  sin, 
without  exception:  and  a  body  of  death  hanging  about 
him  is  the  burden  of  his  life.  Even  the  poor  jealous  lan- 
guishing Christian  has  his  hope,  all  the  little  hope  that  he 
has,  built  upon  Jesus  Christ.  Even  this  smoking  flax 
sends  up  some  exhalations  of  love  towards  heaven.  Even 
the  poor  creature  that  often  fears  he  is  altogether  a  slave 
to  sin,  honestly,  though  feebly,  labours  to  be  holy,  to  be 
holy  as  an  angel,  yea,  to  be  holy  as  God  is  holy.  He  has 
a  heart  that  feels  the  attractive  charms  of  holiness,  and  he 
is  so  captivated  by  it,  that  sin  can  never  recover  its  former 
place  in  his  heart:  no,  the  tyrant  is  for  ever  dethroned, 
and  the  believer  would  rather  die  than  yield  himself  a 
tame  slave  to  the  usurped  tyranny  again. 

Thus  I  have  delineated  to  you,  in  the  plainest  manner  I 
could,  the  character  of  a  weak  Christian.  Some  of  you, 
I  am  afraid,  cannot  lay  claim  even  to  this  low  character. 
If  so,  you  may  be  sure  you  are  not  true  Christians,  even 
of  the  lowest  rank.  You  may  be  sure  you  have  not  the 
least  spark  of  true  religion  in  your  hearts,  but  are  utterly 
destitute  of  it. 

But  some  of  you,  I  hope,  can  say,  "  Well,  after  all  my 
doubts  and  fears,  .if  this  be  the  character  of  a  true,  though 
weak  Christian,  then  I  may  humbly  hope  that  I  am  one. 
I  am  indeed  confirmed  in  it,  that  I  am  less  than  the  least 
of  all  other  saints  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  but  yet  I  see 
that  I  am  a  saint ;  for  thus  has  my  heart  been  exercised, 
even  in  my  dark  and  languishing  hours.  This  secret  un- 
easiness and  pining  anxiety,  this  thirst  for  God,  for  the 
living  God,  this  tendency  of  soul  towards  Jesus  Christ, 
this  implacable  enmity  to  sin,  this  panting  and  struggling 
after  holiness :  these  things  have  I  often  felt."  And  have 
you  indeed  ?  Then  away  with  your  doubts  and  jealousies ; 


2G2  THE   COMPASSION    OF    CHRIST 

away  with  your  fears  and  despondencies !  There  is  at 
least  an  immortal  spark  kindled  in  your  hearts,  which  the 
united  power  of  men  and  devils,  of  sin  and  temptation,  shall 
never  be  able  to  quench.  No,  it  shall  yet  rise  into  a  flarne, 
and  burn  with  seraphic  ardours  for  ever. 

For  your  farther  encouragement,  I  proceed, 

II.  To  illustrate  the  care  and  compassion  of  Jesus 
Christ  for  such  poor  weaklings  as  you. 

This  may  appear  a  needless  task  to  some :  for  who  is 
there  that  does  not  believe  it  ?  But  to  such  would  I  say, 
it  is  no  easy  thing  to  establish  a  trembling  soul  in  the  full 
belief  of  this  truth.  It  is  easy  for  one  that  does  not  see 
his  danger,  and  does  not  feel  his  extreme  need  of  salva- 
tion, and  the  difficulty  of  the  work,  to  believe  that  Christ 
is  willing  and  able  to  save  him.  But  oh !  to  a  poor  soul, 
deeply  sensible  of  its  condition,  this  is  no  easy  matter. 
Besides,  the  heart  may  need  be  more  deeply  affected  with 
this  truth,  though  the  understanding  should  need  no  farther 
arguments  of  the  speculative  kind  for  its  conviction ;  and 
to  impress  this  truth  is  my  present  design. 

For  this  purpose  I  need  but  read  and  paraphrase  to  you 
a  few  of  the  many  kind  declarations  and  assurances  which 
Jesus  has  given  us  in  his  word,  and  relate  the  happy  ex- 
periences of  some  of  his  saints  there  recorded,  who  found 
him  true  and  faithful  to  his.  word. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  seems  to  have  a  peculiar  ten- 
derness for  the  poor,  the  mourners,  the  broken-hearted ; 
and  these  are  peculiarly  the  objects  of  his  mediatorial 
office.  The  LORD  hath  anointed  me,  says  he,  to  preach 
good  tidings  to  the  meek ;  he  hath  sent  me  all  the  way 
from  my  native  heaven  down  to  earth,  upon  this  compas- 
sionate errand,  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted,  to  appoint 
unto  them  that  mourn  in  Zion,  to  give  unto  them  beauty 
for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  the  garment  of 


TO    WEAK    BELIEVERS.  263 

praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness.  Isa.  Ixi.  1-3.  Thus 
saith  the  LORD,  in  strains  of  majesty  that  become  him,  The 
heaven  is  my  throne,  and  the  earth  is  my  footstool :  where 
is  the  house  that  ye  build  unto  me  ?  and  where  is  the  place 
of  my  rest  1  For  all  those  things  hath  my  hand  made, 
saith  the  LORD.  Had  he  spoken  uniformly  in  this  majestic 
language  to  us  guilty  worms,  the  declaration  might  have 
overwhelmed  us  with  awe,  but  could  not  have  inspired  us 
with  hope.  But  he  advances  himself  thus  high,  on  pur- 
pose to  let  us  see  how  low  he  can  stoop.  Hear  the  en- 
couraging sequel  of  this  his  majestic  speech:  To  this  man 
will  1  look,  even  to  him  that  is  poor,  and  of  a  contrite 
spirit,  and  trembleth  at  my  word.  Let  heaven  and  earth 
wonder  that  he  will  look  down  through  all  the  shining 
ranks  of  angels,  and  look  by  princes  and  nobles  to  fix  his 
eye  upon  this  man,  this  poor  man,  this  contrite,  broken- 
hearted, trembling  creature.  Isa.  Ixvi.  1,  2.  He  loves  to 
dwell  upon  this  subject,  and  therefore  you  hear  it  again  in 
the  same  prophecy :  "  Thus  saith  the  high  and  lofty  One 
that  inhabiteth  eternity,  whose  name  is  holy/' — what  does 
he  say?  I  dwell  in  the  high  and  holy  place.  Isa.  Ivii.  15. 
This  is  said  in  character.  This  is  a  dwelling  in  some 
measure  worthy  the  inhabitant.  But  oh!  will  he  stoop  to 
dwell  in  a  lower  mansion,  or  pitch  his  tent  among  mortals  ? 
yes,  he  dwells  not  only  in  his  high  and  holy  place,  but 
also,  with  him  that  is  of  a  contrite  and  humble  spirit,  to 
revive  the  spirit  of  the  humble,  and  to  revive  the  heart  of 
the  contrite  ones.  He  charges  Peter  to  feed  his  lambs  as 
well  as  his  sheep;  that  is,  to  take  the  tenderest  care  even 
of  the  weakest  in  his  flock.  John  xxi.  15.  And  he 
severely  rebukes  the  shepherds  of  Israel,  Because,  says  he, 
ye  have  not  strengthened  the  diseased,  neither  have  ye 
healed  that  which  was  sick,  neither  have  ye  bound  up  that 
which  was  broken.  Ezek.  xxxiv.  4.  But  what  an  amiable 


264  THE   COMPASSION   OF    CHRIST 

reverse  is  the  character  of  the  great  Shepherd  and  Bishop 
of  souls !  Behold,  says  Isaiah,  the  Lord  God  will  come 
with  strong  hand,  and  his  arm  shall  rule  for  him :  behold 
his  reward  is  with  him,  and  his  work  before  him.  How 
justly  may  we  tremble  at  this  proclamation  of  the  ap- 
proaching God!  for  who  can  stand  when  he  appeareth? 
But  how  agreeably  are  our  fears  disappointed  in  what  fol- 
lows! If  he  comes  to  take  vengeance  on  his  enemies,  he 
also  comes  to  show  mercy  to  the  meanest  of  his  people. 
He  shall  feed  his  flock  like  a  shepherd :  he  shall  gather  the 
lambs  with  his  arm,  and  carry  them  in  his  bosom,  and 
shall  gently  lead  those  that  are  with  young :  Isa.  xl.  10, 
11,  that  is,  he  shall  exercise  the  tenderest  and  most  com- 
passionate care  towards  the  meanest  and  weakest  of  his 
flock.  He  hath  looked  down,  says  the  Psalmist,  from  the 
height  of  his  sanctuary;  from  heaven  did  the  Lord  behold 
the  earth;  not  to  view  the  grandeur  and  pride  of  courts 
and  kings,  nor  the  heroic  exploits  of  conquerors,  but  to 
hear  the  groaning  of  the  prisoner,  to  loose  those  that  are 
appointed  to  death.  He  will  regard  the  prayer  of  the 
destitute,  and  not  despise  their  prayer.  This  shall  be 
written  for  the  generation  to  come.  Psalm  cii.  17-20.  It 
was  written  for  your  encouragement,  my  brethren.  Above 
three  thousand  years  ago,  this  encouraging  passage  was 
entered  into  the  sacred  records  for  the  support  of  poor  de- 
sponding souls  in  Virginia,  in  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Oh, 
what  an  early  provident  care  does  God  show  for  his 
people  !  There  are  none  of  the  seven  churches  of  Asia 
so  highly  commended  by  Christ  as  that  of  Philadelphia; 
and  yet  in  commending  her,  all  he  can  say  is,  "  Thou  hast 
a  little  strength."  /  know  thy  works ;  behold  I  have  set 
before  thee  an  open  door,  and  no  man  can  shut  it :  for 
thou  hast  a  little  strength.  Rev.  iii.  8.  Oh,  how  accept- 
able is  a  little  strength  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  how  ready  is 


TO    WEAK    BELIEVERS.  265 

he  to  improve  it!  He  giveth  power  to  the  faint,  says 
Isaiah,  and  to  them  that  have  no  might  he  increaseth 
strength.  Isa.  xl.  29.  Hear  farther  what  words  of  grace 
and  truth  flowed  from  the  lips  of  Jesus.  Come  unto  me, 
all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest :  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  Matt.  xi.  28,  29. 
Him  that  cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.  John 
vi.  37.  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and 
drink.  John  vii.  37.  Let  him  that  is  athirst  come :  and 
whosoever  will,  let  him  take  of  the  water  of  life  freely. 
Rev.  xxii.  17.  Oh,  what  strong  consolation  is. here! 
what  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises  are  these ! 
I  might  easily  add  to  the  catalogue,  but  these  may 
suffice. 

Let  us  now  see  how  his  people  in  every  age  have  ever 
found  these  promises  made  good.  Here  David  may  be 
consulted  instar  omnium,  and  he  will  tell  you,  pointing  to 
himself,  This  poor  man  cried,  and  the  LORD  heard  him, 
and  saved  him  out  of  all  his  troubles.  Psalm  xxxiv.  6. 
St.  Paul,  in  the  midst  of  affliction,  calls  God  the  Father  of 
mercies  and  the  God  of  all  comfort,  who  comforteth  us  in 
all  our  tribulation.  2  Cor.  i.  3,  4.  God,  says  he  that  com- 
forteth those  that  are  cast  down,  comforted  us.  2  Cor. 
vii.  6.  What  a  sweetly  emphatic  declaration  is  this! 
"  God,  the  comforter  of  the  humble,  comforted  us."*  He 
is  not  only  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  King  of  kings,  the 
Creator  of  the  world,  but  among  his  more  august  cha- 
racters he  assumes  this  title,  the  Comforter  of  "  the 
humble."  Such  St.  Paul  found  him  in  an  hour  of  tempta- 
tion, when  he  had  this  supporting  answer  to  his  repeated 
prayer  for  deliverance,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  ;  for 
my  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness.  2  Cor.  xii.  9. 

*  This  is  the  most  literal  translation  of 5  ira/SaKaXcov  rotif  ra-ntiovf  irapCKa\c<rev 

fjuSf  b  Btdf. 

VOL.  I.— 34 


266  THE   COMPASSION    OF    CHRIST 

Since  this  was  the  case,  since  his  weakness  was  more  than 
supplied  by  the  strength  of  Christ,  and  was  a  foil  to  set  it 
off,  St.  Paul  seems  quite  regardless  what  infirmities  he 
laboured  under.  Nay,  most  gladly,  says  he,  will  I  rather 
glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest 
upon  me.  Therefore  I  take  pleasure  in  infirmities — -for 
when  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong.  He  could  take  no 
pleasure  in  feeling  himself  weak:  but  the  mortification 
was  made  up  by  the  pleasure  he  found  in  leaning  upon 
this  almighty  support.  His  wounds  were  painful  to  him : 
but,  oh!  the  pleasure  he  found  in  feeling  the  divine  physi- 
cian dressing  his  wounds,  in  some  measure  swallowed  up 
the  pain.  It  was  probably  experience,  as  well  as  inspira- 
tion, that  dictated  to  the  apostle  that  amiable  character  of 
Christ,  that  he  is  a  "merciful  and  faithful  High  Priest, 
who,  being  himself  tempted,  knows  how  to  succour  them 
that  are  tempted."  Heb.  ii.  17,  18.  And  "we  have  not  a 
high  priest  which  cannot  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of 
our  infirmities:  but  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we 
are,  yet  without  sin."  Heb  iv.  15. 

But  why  need  I  multiply  arguments?  Go  to  his  cross, 
and  there  learn  his  love  and  compassion,  from  his  groans 
and  wounds,  and  blood,  and  death.  Would  he  hang  there 
in  such  agony  for  sinners  if  he  were  not  willing  to  save 
them,  and  cherish  every  good  principle  in  them  ?  There 
you  may  have  much  the  same  evidence  of  his  compassion 
as  Thomas  had  of  his  resurrection;  you  may  look  into  his 
hands,  and  see  the  print  of  the  nails ;  and  into  his  side,  and 
see  the  scar  of  the  spear;  which  loudly  proclaims  his 
readiness  to  pity  and  help  you. 

And  now,  poor,  trembling,  doubting  souls,  what  hinders 
but  you  should  raise  up  your  drooping  head,  and  take 
courage?  May  you  not  venture  your  souls  into  such 
compassionate  and  faithful  hands?  Why  should  the 


TO    WEAK    BELIEVERS.  267 

bruised  reed  shrink  from  him,  when  he  comes  not  to  tread 
it  down,  but  raise  it  up? 

As  I  am  really  solicitous  that  impenitent  hearts  among 
us  should  be  pierced  with  the  medicinal  anguish  and  sor- 
row of  conviction  and  repentance,  and  the  most  friendly 
heart  cannot  form  a  kinder  wish  for  them,  so  I  am  truly 
solicitous  that  every  honest  soul,  in  which  there  is  the 
least  spark  of  true  piety,  should  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  it. 
It  is  indeed  to  be  lamented  that  they  who  have  a  title  to 
so  much  happiness  should  enjoy  so  little  of  it ;  it  is  very 
incongruous  that  they  should  go  bowing  the  head  in  their 
way  towards  heaven,  as  if  they  were  hastening  to  the  place 
of  execution,  and  that  they  should  serve  so  good  a  Master 
with  such  heavy  hearts.  Oh  lift  up  the  hands  that  hang 
down,  and  strengthen  the  feeble  knees!  "Comfort  ye, 
comfort  ye,  my  people,  saith  your  God."  "  Be  strong  in 
the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  his  might."  Trust  in  your 
all-sufficient  Redeemer;  trust  in  him  though  he  should 
slay  you. 

And  do  not  indulge  causeless  doubts  and  fears  concern- 
ing your  sincerity.  When  they  arise  in  your  minds,  ex- 
amine them,  and  search  whether  there  be  any  sufficient 
reason  for  them;  and  if  you  discover  there  is  not,  then  re- 
ject them  and  set  them  at  defiance,  and  entertain  your 
hopes  in  spite  of  them,  and  say  with  the  Psalmist,  "  Why 
art  thou  cast  down,  oh  my  soul?  and  why  art  thou  dis- 
quieted within  me  ?  Hope  thou  in  God :  for  I  shall  yet 
praise  him,  who  is  the  health  of  my  countenance,  and  my 
God."  Psalm  xlii.  11. 


268  THE  CONNECTION  BETWEEN 


SERMON  IX. 

THE    CONNECTION    BETWEEN    PRESENT    HOLINESS    AND    FU- 
TURE   FELICITY. 

HEB.  xii.  14. — Follow  holiness ;    without  which  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord. 

As  the  human  soul  was  originally  designed  for  the  en- 
joyment of  no  less  a  portion  than  the  ever-blessed  God,  it 
was  formed  with  a  strong  innate  tendency  towards  happi- 
ness. It  has  not  only  an  eager  fondness  for  existence,  but 
for  some  good  to  render  its  existence  happy.  And  the 
privation  of  being  itself  is  not  more  terrible  than  the  pri- 
vation of  all  its  blessings.  It  is  true,  in  the  present  de- 
generacy of  human  nature,  this  vehement  desire  is  miser- 
ably perverted  and  misplaced;  man  seeks  his  supreme 
happiness  in  sinful,  or  at  best  in  created  enjoyments,  for- 
getful of  the  uncreated  fountain  of  bliss ;  but  yet  still  he 
seeks  happiness :  still  this  innate  impetus  is  predominant, 
and  though  he  mistakes  the  means,  yet  he  still  retains  a 
general  aim  at  the  end.  Hence  he  ransacks  this  lower 
world  in  quest  of  felicity ;  climbs  in  search  of  it  the  slip- 
pery ascent  of  honour;  hunts  for  it  in  the  treasures  of 
gold  and  silver;  or  plunges  for  it  in  the  foul  streams  of 
sensual  pleasures.  But  since  all  the  sordid  satisfaction  re- 
sulting from  these  things  is  not  adequate  to  the  unbounded 
cravings  of  the  mind,  and  since  the  satisfaction  is  transitory 
and  perishing,  or  we  may  be  wrenched  from  it  by  the  in- 
exorable hand  of  death,  the  mind  breaks  through  the  limits 


HOLINESS    AND    FELICITY.  269 

of  the  present  enjoyments,  and  even  of  the  lower  creation, 
and  ranges  through  the  unknown  scenes  of  futurity  in 
quest  of  some  untried  good.  Hope  makes  excursions  into 
the  dark  duration  between  the  present  now  and  the  grave, 
and  forms  to  itself  pleasing  images  of  approaching  bless- 
ings, which  often  vanish  in  the  embrace,  like  delusive 
phantoms.  Nay,  it  launches  into  the  vast  unknown  world 
that  lies  beyond  the  grave,  and  roves  through  the  regions 
of  immensity  after  some  complete  felicity  to  supply  the 
defects  of  sublunary  enjoyments.  Hence,  though  men, 
till  their  spirits  are  refined  by  regenerating  grace,  have  no 
relish  for  celestial  joys,  but  pant  for  the  poor  pleasures  of 
time  and  sense,  yet  as  they  cannot  avoid  the  unwelcome 
consciousness  that  death  will  ere  long  rend  them  from 
these  sordid  and  momentary  enjoyments,  are  constrained 
to  indulge  the  hope  of  bliss  in  a  future  state :  and  they 
promise  themselves  happiness  in  another  world  when  they 
can  no  longer  enjoy  any  in  this.  And  as  reason  and  re- 
velation unitedly  assure  them  that  this  felicity  cannot  con- 
sist in  sensual  indulgences,  they  generally  expect  it  will  be 
of  a  more  refined  and  spiritual  nature,  and  flow  more  im- 
mediately from  the  great  Father  of  spirits. 

He  must  indeed  be  miserable  that  abandons  all  hope  of 
this  blessedness.  The  Christian  religion  affords  him  no 
other  prospect  but  that  of  eternal,  intolerable  misery  in  the 
regions  of  darkness  and  despair;  and  if  he  flies  to  infi- 
delity as  a  refuge,  it  can  afford  him  no  comfort  but  the 
shocking  prospect  of  annihilation. 

Now,  if  men  were  pressed  into  heaven  by  an  unavoid- 
able fatality,  if  happiness  was  promiscuously  promised  to 
them  all  without  distinction  of  characters,  then  they  might 
indulge  a  blind  unexamined  hope,  and  never  perplex  them- 
selves with  anxious  inquiries  about  it.  And  he  might 
justly  be  deemed  a  malignant  disturber  of  the  repose  of 


270  THE   CONNECTION    BEWEEN 

mankind,  that  would  attempt  to  shock  their  hope,  and 
frighten  them  with  causeless  scruples. 

But  if  the  light  of  nature  intimates,  and  the  voice  of 
Scripture  proclaims  aloud,  that  this  eternal  felicity  is  re- 
served only  for  persons  of  particular  characters,  and  that 
multitudes,  multitudes  who  entertained  pleasing  hopes  of 
it,  are  confounded  with  an  eternal  disappointment,  and 
shall  suffer  an  endless  duration  in  the  most  terrible  mise- 
ries, we  ought  each  of  us  to  take  the  alarm,  and  examine 
the  grounds  of  our  hope,  that,  if  they  appear  sufficient, 
we  may  allow  ourselves  a  rational  satisfaction  in  them ; 
and  if  they  are  found  delusive,  we  may  abandon  them,  and 
seek  for  a  hope  which  will  bear  the  test  now  while  it  may 
be  obtained.  And  however  disagreeable  the  task  be  to 
give  our  fellow-creatures  even  profitable  uneasiness,  yet  he 
must  appear  to  the  impartial  a  friend  to  the  best  interests 
of  mankind,  who  points  out  the  evidences  and  foundation 
of  a  rational  and  Scriptural  hope,  and  exposes  the  va- 
rious mistakes  to  which  we  are  subject  in  so  important  a 
case. 

And  if,  when  we  look  around  us,  we  find  persons  full 
of  the  hopes  of  heaven,  who  can  give  no  Scriptural  evi- 
dences of  them  to  themselves  or  others;  if  we  find  many 
indulging  this  pleasing  delusion,  whose  practices  are  men- 
tioned by  God  himself  as  the  certain  marks  of  perishing 
sinners;  and  if  persons  are  so  tenacious  of  these  hopes, 
that  they  will  retain  them  to  their  everlasting  ruin,  unless 
the  most  convictive  methods  are  taken  to  undeceive  them; 
then  it  is  high  time  for  those  to  whom  the  care  of  souls 
(a  weightier  charge  than  that  of  kingdoms)  is  entrusted,  to 
use  the  greatest  plainness  for  this  purpose. 

This  is  my  chief  design  at  present,  and  to  this  my  text 
naturally  leads  me.  It  contains  these  doctrines : 

First,  That  without  holiness  here,  it  is  impossible  for  us 


HOLINESS    AND    FELICITY.  271 

to  enjoy  heavenly  happiness  in  the  future  world.  To  see 
the  Lord,  is  here  put  for  enjoying  him ;  see  Rom.  viii.  24. 
And  the  metaphor  signifies  the  happiness  of  the  future 
state  in  general ;  and  more  particularly  intimates  that  the 
knowledge  of  God  will  be  a  special  ingredient  therein. 
See  a  parallel  expression  in  Matt.  v.  8. 

Secondly,  that  this  consideration  should  induce  us  to  use 
the  most  earnest  endeavours  to  obtain  the  heavenly  happi- 
ness. Pursue  holiness,  because  without  it  no  man  can  see 
the  Lord. 

Hence  I  am  naturally  led, 

I.  To  explain  the  nature  of  that  holiness,  without  which 
no  man  shall  see  the  Lord. 

II.  To  show  what  endeavours  should  be  used  to  obtain 
it.     And, 

III.  To  urge  you  to  use  them  by  the  consideration  of 
the  absolute  necessity  of  holiness. 

I.  I  am  to  explain  the  nature  of  holiness.  And  I  shall 
give  you  a  brief  definition  of  it,  and  then  mention  some 
of  those  dispositions  and  practices  which  naturally  flow 
from  it. 

The  most  intelligible  description  of  holiness,  as  it  is  in- 
herent in  us,  may  be  this :  "  It  is  a  conformity  in  heart  and 
practice  to  the  revealed  will  of  God."  As  the  Supreme 
Being  is  the  standard  of  all  perfection,  his  holiness  in  par- 
ticular is  the  standard  of  ours.  Then  we  are  holy  when 
his  image  is  stamped  upon  our  hearts  and  reflected  in  our 
lives ;  so  the  apostle  defines  it,  and  that  ye  put  on  the  new 
man,  which  after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true 
holiness.  Eph.  iv.  24.  Whom  he  did  predestinate  to  be 
conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son.  Rom.  viii.  29.  Hence 
holiness  may  be  defined,  "A  conformity  to  God  in  his 
moral  perfections."  But  as  we  cannot  have  a  distinct 
knowledge  of  these  perfections  but  as  they  are  manifested 


272  THE    CONNECTION    BETWEEN 

by  the  revealed  will  of  God,  I  choose  to  define  holiness, 
as  above,  "  A  conformity  to  his  revealed  will."  Now  his 
revealed  will  comprises  both  the  law  and  the  gospel;  the 
law  informs  us  of  the  duty  which  we  as  creatures  owe  to 
God  as  a  being  of  supreme  excellency,  as  our  Creator  and 
Benefactor,  and  to  men  as  our  fellow-creatures ;  and  the 
gospel  informs  us  of  the  duty  which  as  sinners  we  owe  to 
God  as  reconcilable  through  a  Mediator.  Our  obedience 
to  the  former  implies  the  whole  of  morality,  and  to  the 
latter  the  whole  of  evangelical  graces,  as  faith  in  a  Medi- 
ator, repentance,  &c. 

From  this  definition  of  holiness  it  appears,  on  the  one 
hand,  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary,  to  see  the  Lord ;  for 
unless  our  dispositions  are  conformed  to  him,  we  cannot 
be  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of  him;  and  on  the  other 
hand,  that  they  who  are  made  thus  holy,  are  prepared  for 
the  vision  and  fruition  of  his  face,  as  they  can  relish  the 
divine  pleasure. 

But  as  a  concise  definition  of  holiness  may  give  an  audi- 
tory but  very  imperfect  ideas  of  it,  I  shall  expatiate  upon 
the  dispositions  and  practices  in  which  it  consists,  or 
which  naturally  result  from  it ;  and  they  are  such  as  follow : 

1.  A  delight  in  God  for  his  holiness.  Self-love  may 
prompt  us  to  love  him  for  his  goodness  to  us ;  and  so, 
many  unregenerate  men  may  have  a  selfish  love  to  God 
on  this  account.  But  to  love  God  because  he  is  infinitely 
holy,  because  he  bears  an  infinite  detestation  to  all  sin, 
and  will  not  indulge  his  creatures  in  the  neglect,  of  the 
least  instance  of  holiness,  but  commands  them  to  be  holy 
as  he  is  holy,  this  is  a  disposition  connatural  to  a  renewed 
soul  only,  and  argues  a  conformity  to  his  image.  Every 
nature  is  most  agreeable  to  itself,  and  a  holy  nature  is  most 
agreeable  to  a  holy  nature. 

Here  I  would  make  a  remark,  which  may  God  deeply 


HOLINESS    AND    FELICITY.  273 

impress  on  your  hearts,  and  which  for  that  purpose  I  shall 
subjoin  to  each  particular,  that  holiness  in  fallen  man  is 
supernatural ;  I  mean  we  are  not  born  with  it,  we  give  no 
discoveries  of  it,  till  we  have  experienced  a  great  change. 
Thus  we  find  it  in  the  present  case ;  we  have  no  natural 
love  to  God  because  of  his  infinite  purity  and  hatred  to 
all  sin ;  nay,  we  would  love  him  more  did  he  give  us 
greater  indulgences;  and  I  am  afraid  the  love  of  some 
persons  is  founded  upon  a  mistake;  they  love  him  because 
they  imagine  he  does  not  hate  sin,  nor  them  for  it,  so 
much  as  he  really  does ;  because  they  do  not  expect  he  is 
so  inexorably  just  in  his  dealings  with  the  sinner.  It  is 
no  wonder  they  love  such  a  soft,  easy,  passive  being  as 
this  imaginary  deity ;  but  did  they  see  the  lustre  of  that 
holiness  of  God  which  dazzles  the  celestial  armies;  did 
they  but  know  the  terrors  of  his  justice,  and  his  implacable 
indignation  against  sin,  their  innate  enmity  would  show  its 
poison,  and  their  hearts  would  rise  against  God  in  all  those 
horrible  blasphemies  with  which  awakened  sinners  are  so 
frequently  shocked.  Such  love  as  this  is  so  far  from 
being  acceptable,  that  it  is  the  greatest  affront  to  the  Su- 
preme Being;  as,  if  a  profligate  loved  you  on  the  mis- 
taken supposition  that  you  were  such  a  libertine  as  himself, 
it  would  rather  inflame  your  indignation  than  procure  your 
respect. 

But  to  a  regenerate  mind  how  strong,  how  transporting 
are  the  charms  of  holiness !  Such  a  mind  joins  the  anthem 
of  seraphs  with  the  divinest  complacency,  Rev.  iv.  8,  and 
anticipates  the  song  of  glorified  saints,  Who  shall  not  fear 
thee,  0  Lord,  and  glorify  thy  name  ?  for  thou  only  art 
holy.  Rev.  xv.  4.  The  perfections  of  God  lose  their 
lustre,  or  sink  into  objects  of  terror  or  contempt,  if  this 
glorious  attribute  be  abstracted.  Without  holiness  power 
becomes  tyranny,  omniscience  craft,  justice  revenge  and 

VOL.  I.— 36 


274  THE    CONNECTION   BETWEEN 

cruelty,  and  even  the  amiable  attribute  of  goodness  loses 
its  charms,  and  degenerates  into  a  blind  promiscuous  pro- 
digality, or  foolish  undiscerning  fondness :  but  when  these 
perfections  are  clothed  in  the  beauties  of  holiness,  how 
Godlike,  how  majestic,  how  lovely  and  attractive  do 
they  appear!  and  with  what  complacence  does  a  mind 
fashioned  after  the  divine  image  acquiesce  in  them. 
It  may  appear  amiable  even  to  an  unholy  sinner 
that  the  exertions  of  almighty  power  should  be  regulated 
by  the  most  consummate  wisdom ;  that  justice  should  not 
without  distinction  punish  the  guilty  and  the  innocent :  but 
an  holy  soul  only  can  rejoice  that  divine  goodness  will  not 
communicate  happiness  to  the  disgrace  of  holiness;  and 
that,  rather  than  it  should  overflow  in  a  blind  promiscuous 
manner,  the  whole  human  race  should  be  miserable.  A 
selfish  sinner  has  nothing  in  view  but  his  own  happiness; 
and  if  this  be  obtained,  he  has  no  anxiety  about  the  illus- 
tration of  the  divine  purity;  but  it  recommends  happiness 
itself  to  a  sanctified  soul,  that  it  cannot  be  communicated 
in  a  way  inconsistent  with  the  beauties  of  holiness. 

2.  Holiness  consists  in  a  hearty  complacence  in  the  law 
of  God,  because  of  its  purity.  The  law  is  the  transcript 
of  the  moral  perfections  of  God ;  and  if  we  love  the  ori- 
ginal, we  shall  love  the  copy.  Accordingly  it  is  natural 
to  a  renewed  mind  to  love  the  divine  law,  because  it  is 
perfectly  holy,  because  it  makes  no  allowance  for  the  least 
sin,  and  requires  every  duty  that  it  becomes  us  to  perform 
towards  God.  Psalm  cxix.  140,  and  xix.  7-10,  Romans 
vii.  12,  compared  with  22. 

But  is  this  our  natural  disposition  1  Is  this  the  dispo- 
sition of  the  generality  ?  Do  they  not,  on  the  contrary, 
secretly  find  fault  with  the  law,  because  it  is  so  strict  ? 
And  their  common  objection  against  that  holiness  of  life 
which  it  enjoins  is,  that  they  cannot  bear  to  be  so  precise. 


HOLINESS    AND    FELICITY.  275 

Hence  they  are  always  for  abating  the  rigour  of  the  law, 
for  bringing  it  down  to  some  imaginary  standard  of  their 
own,  to  their  present  ability,  to  sins  of  practice  without 
regard  to  the  sinful  dispositions  of  the  heart;  or  to  the 
prevailing  dispositions  of  the  heart  without  regard  to  the 
first  workings  of  concupiscence,  those  embryos  of  iniquity ; 
and  if  they  love  the  law  at  all,  as  they  profess  to  do,  it  is 
upon  the  supposition  that  it  is  not  so  strict  as  it  really 
is,  but  grants  them  greater  indulgences.  Rom.  vii.  7. 

Hence  it  appears  that,  if  we  are  made  holy  at  all,  it 
must  be  by  a  supernatural  change;  and  when  that  is 
effected,  what  a  strange  and  happy  alteration  does  the  sin- 
ner perceive !  with  what  pleasure  does  he  resign  himself  a 
willing  subject  to  that  law  to  which  he  was  once  so  averse ! 
And  when  he  fails,  (as  alas  !  he  does  in  many  things,)  how 
is  he  humbled !  He  does  not  lay  the  fault  upon  the  law 
as  requiring  impossibilities,  but  lays  the  whole  fault  upon 
himself  as  a  corrupt  sinner. 

3.  Holiness  consists  in  a  hearty  complacence  in  the 
gospel  method  of  salvation,  because  it  tends  to  illustrate 
the  moral  perfections  of  the  Deity,  and  to  discover  the 
beauties  of  holiness. 

The  gospel  informs  us  of  two  grand  pre-requisites  to 
the  salvation  of  the  fallen  sons  of  men,  namely,  the  satis- 
faction of  divine  justice  by  the  obedience  and  passion  of 
Christ,  that  God  might  be  reconciled  to  them  consistently 
with  his  perfections ;  and  the  sanctification  of  sinners  by 
the  efficacy  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  they  might  be  capa- 
ble of  enjoying  God,  and  that  he  might  maintain  intimate 
communion  with  them  without  any  stain  to  his  holiness. 
These  two  grand  articles  contain  the  substance  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  and  our  acquiescence  in  them  is  the  substance  of  that 
evangelical  obedience  which  it  requires  of  us,  and  which  is 
essential  to  holiness  in  a  fallen  creature. 


276  THE    CONNECTION    BETWEEN 

Now,  it  is  evident,  that  without  either  of  these  the 
moral  perfections  of  the  Deity,  particularly  his  holiness, 
could  not  be  illustrated,  or  even  secured  in  the  salvation 
of  a  sinner.  Had  he  received  an  apostate  race  into 
favour,  who  had  conspired  in  the  most  unnatural  rebellion 
against  him,  without  any  satisfaction,  his  holiness  would 
have  been  eclipsed ;  it  would  not  have  appeared  that  he 
had  so  invincible  an  abhorrence  of  sin,  so  zealous  a  re- 
gard for  the  vindication  of  his  own  holy  law ;  or  to  his 
veracity,  which  had  threatened  condign  punishment  to 
offenders.  But  by  the  satisfaction  of  Christ,  his  holiness 
is  illustrated  in  the  most  conspicuous  manner :  now  it  ap- 
pears, that  God  would  upon  no  terms  save  a  sinner  but 
that  of  adequate  satisfaction,  and  that  no  other  was  suffi- 
cient but  the  suffering  of  his  co-equal  Son,  otherwise  he 
would  not  have  appointed  him  to  sustain  the  character  of 
a  Mediator ;  and  now  it  appears  that  his  hatred  of  sin  is 
such  that  he  would  not  let  it  pass  unpunished  even  in  his 
own  Son,  when  only  imputed  to  him.  In  like  manner,  if 
sinners,  while  unholy,  were  admitted  into  communion  with 
God  in  heaven,  it  would  obscure  the  glory  of  his  holiness, 
and  it  would  not  then  appear  that  such  was  the  purity  of 
his  nature  that  he  could  have  no  fellowship  with  sin. 
But  now  it  is  evident,  that  even  the  blood  of  Immanuel 
cannot  purchase  heaven  to  be  enjoyed  by  a  sinner  while 
unholy,  but  that  every  one  that  arrives  at  heaven  must  first 
be  sanctified.  An  unholy  sinner  can  no  more  be  saved, 
while  such,  by  the  gospel  than  by  the  law ;  but  here  lies 
the  difference,  that  the  gospel  makes  provision  for  his 
sanctification,  which  is  gradually  carried  on  here,  and  per- 
fected at  death,  before  his  admission  into  the  heavenly  glory. 

Now  it  is  the  genius  of  true  holiness  to  acquiesce  in 
both  these  articles.  A  sanctified  soul  places  all  its  de- 
pendence on  the  righteousness  of  Christ  for  acceptance. 


HOLINESS    AND    FELICITY.  277 

It  would  be  disagreeable  to  it  to  have  the  least  concur- 
rence in  its  own  justification.  It  is  not  only  willing,  but 
delights  to  renounce  all  its  own  righteousness,  and  to  glory 
in  Christ  alone.  Phil.  iii.  3.  Free  grace  to  such  souls  is 
a  charming  theme,  and  salvation  is  more  acceptable,  be- 
cause conveyed  in  this  way.  It  would  render  heaven  it- 
self disagreeable,  and  wither  all  its  joys,  were  they  brought 
thither  in  a  way  that  degrades  or  does  not  illustrate  the 
glory  of  God's  holiness;  but  oh  how  agreeable  the 
thought,  that  he  that  glorieth  must  glory  in  the  Lord,  and 
that  the  pride  of  all  flesh  shall  be  abased ! 

So  a  holy  person  rejoiceth  that  the  way  of  holiness  is 
the  appointed  way  to  heaven.  He  is  not  forced  to  be 
holy  merely  by  the  servile  consideration  that  he  must  be 
so  or  perish,  and  so  unwillingly  submits  to  the  necessity 
which  he  cannot  avoid,  when  in  the  meantime,  were  it 
put  to  his  choice,  he  would  choose  to  reserve  some  sins, 
and  neglect  some  painful  duties.  So  far  from  this,  that 
he  delights  in  the  gospel-constitution,  because  it  requires 
universal  holiness,  and  heaven  would  be  less  agreeable, 
were  he  to  carry  even  the  least  sin  there.  He  thinks  it 
no  hardship  that  he  must  deny  himself  in  his  sinful  plea- 
sures, and  habituate  himself  to  so  much  strictness  in  re- 
ligion ;  no,  but  he  blesses  the  Lord  for  obliging  him  to  it, 
and  where  he  fails  he  charges  himself  with  it,  and  is  self- 
abased  upon  the  account. 

This  is  solid  rational  religion,  fit  to  be  depended  upon, 
in  opposition  to  the  antinomian  licentiousness,  the  freaks 
of  enthusiasm,  and  the  irrational  flights  of  passion  and  im- 
agination on  the  one  hand  ;  and  in  opposition  to  formality, 
mere  morality,  and  the  self-sprung  religion  of  nature 
on  the  other.  And  is  it  not  evident  we  are  destitute  of 
this  by  nature  ?  Men  naturally  are  averse  to  this  gospel 
method  of  salvation ;  they  will  not  submit  to  the  righteous- 


278  THE    CONNECTION    BETWEEN 

ness  of  God,  but  fix  tlieir  dependence,  in  part  at  least,  upon 
their  own  merit.  Their  proud  hearts  cannot  bear  the 
thought  that  all  their  performances  must  go  for  just  noth- 
ing in  their  justification.  They  are  also  averse  to  the  way 
of  holiness ;  hence  they  will  either  abandon  the  expecta- 
tion of  heaven,  and  since  they  cannot  obtain  it  in  their  sin- 
ful ways,  desperately  conclude  to  go  on  in  sin,  come  what 
will ;  or,  with  all  the  little  sophistry  they  are  capable  of, 
they  will  endeavour  to  widen  the  way  to  heaven,  and  per- 
suade themselves  they  shall  attain  it,  notwithstanding  their 
continuance  in  some  known  iniquity,  and  though  their 
hearts  have  never  been  thoroughly  sanctified.  Alas  !  how 
evident  is  this  all  around  us !  How  many  either  give  up 
their  hopes  of  heaven  rather  than  part  with  sin,  or  vainly 
hold  them,  while  their  dispositions  and  practices  prove 
them  groundless!  And  must  not  such  degenerate  crea- 
tures be  renewed  ere  they  can  be  holy,  or  see  the  Lord  ? 
4.  Holiness  consists  in  an  habitual  delight  in  all  the 
duties  of  holiness  towards  God  and  man,  and  an  earnest 
desire  for  communion  with  God  in  them.  This  is  the 
natural  result  of  all  the  foregoing  particulars.  If  we  love 
God  for  his  holiness,  we  shall  delight  in  that  service  in 
which  our  conformity  to  him  consists ;  if  we  love  his  law, 
we  shall  delight  in  that  obedience  which  it  enjoins ;  and  if 
we  take  complacence  in  the  evangelical  method  of  salvation, 
we  shall  take  delight  in  that  holiness,  without  which  we  can- 
not enjoy  it.  The  service  of  God  is  the  element,  the 
pleasure  of  a  holy  soul ;  while  others  delight  in  the  riches, 
the  honours,  or  the  pleasures  of  this  world,  the  holy  soul 
desires  one  thing  of  the  Lord,  that  it  may  behold  his 
beauty  while  inquiring  in  his  temple.  Psalm  xxvii.  4. 
Such  a  person  delights  in  retired  converse  with  heaven,  in 
meditation  and  prayer.  Psalm  cxxxix.  17,  and  Ixiii.  5,  6, 
and  Ixxiii.  28.  He  also  takes  pleasure  in  justice,  benevo- 


HOLINESS    AND    FELICITY.  279 

lence,  and  charity  towards  men,  Psalm  cxii.  5,  9,  and  in 
the  strictest  temperance  and  sobriety.  1  Cor.  ix.  27. 

Moreover,  the  mere  formality  of  performing  religious 
duties  does  not  satisfy  the  true  saint,  unless  he  enjoys  a 
divine  friendship  therein,  receives  communications  of  grace 
from  heaven,  and  finds  his  graces  quickened.  Psalm 
xlii.  1,  2. 

This  consideration  also  shows  us  that  holiness  in  us 
must  be  supernatural ;  for  do  we  naturally  thus  delight  in 
the  service  of  God  ?  or  do  you  all  now  thus  delight  in  it  1 
is  it  not  rather  a  weariness  to  you,  and  do  you  not  find 
more  pleasures  in  other  things  ?  Surely  you  must  be 
changed,  or  you  can  have  no  relish  for  the  enjoyments  of 
heavenly  happiness. 

5.  To  constitute  us  saints  indeed  there  must  be  univer- 
sal holiness  in  practice.  This  naturally  follows  from  the 
last,  for  as  the  body  obeys  the  stronger  volitions  of  the 
will,  so  when  the  heart  is  prevailingly  disposed  to  the 
service  of  God,  the  man  will  habitually  practice  it.  This  is 
generally  mentioned  in  Scripture  as  the  grand  characteristic 
of  real  religion,  without  which  all  our  pretensions  are  vain. 
1  John  iii.  2-10,  and  v.  3 ;  John  xv.  15.  True  Christians 
are  far  from  being  perfect  in  practice,  yet  they  are  pre- 
vailingly holy  in  all  manner  of  conversation ;  they  do  not 
live  habitually  in  any  one  known  sin,  or  wilfully  neglect 
any  one  known  duty.  Psalm  cxix.  6. 

Without  this  practical  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord ;  and  if  so,  how  great  a  change  must  be  wrought  on 
most  before  they  can  see  him,  for  how  few  are  thus 
adorned  with  a  life  of  universal  holiness !  Many  profess 
the  name  of  Christ,  but  how  few  of  them  depart  from 
iniquity  ?  But  to  what  purpose  do  they  call  him  Master 
and  Lord,  while  they  do  not  the  things  which  he  com- 
mands them  1 


280  THE    CONNECTION    BETWEEN 

Thus  I  have,  as  plainly  as  I  could,  described  the  nature 
and  properties  of  that  holiness,  without  which  no  man  shall 
see  the  Lord ;  and  they  who  are  possessed  of  it  may  lift 
up  their  heads  with  joy,  assured  that  God  has  begun  a 
good  work  in  them,  and  that  he  will  carry  it  on ;  and  on 
the  other  hand,  they  that  are  destitute  of  it  may  be  assured, 
that  unless  they  are  made  new  creatures  they  cannot  see 
the  Lord.  I  come, 

II.  To  show  you  the  endeavours  we  should  use  to  obtain 
this  holiness.  And  they  are  such  as  these : 

1.  Endeavour  to  know  whether  you  are  holy  or  not  by 
close  examination.  It  is  hard  indeed  for  some  to  know 
positively  that  they  are  holy,  as  they  are  perplexed  with 
the  appearances  of  realities,  and  the  fears  of  counterfeits ; 
but  it  is  then  easy  for  many  to  conclude  negatively  that 
they  are  not  holy  as  they  have  not  the  likeness  of  it! 
To  determine  this  point  is  of  great  use  to  our  successful 
seeking  after  holiness.  That  an  unregenerate  sinner 
should  attend  on  the  means  of  grace  with  other  aims  than 
one  that  has  reason  to  believe  himself  sanctified,  is  evident. 
The  anxieties,  sorrows,  desires,  and  endeavours  of  the  one 
should  run  in  a  very  different  channel  from  those  of  the 
other.  The  one  should  look  upon  himself  as  a  guilty,  con- 
demned sinner ;  the  other  should  allow  himself  the  plea- 
sures of  a  justified  state;  the  one  should  pursue  after  the 
implantation ;  the  other  after  the  increase  of  holiness :  the 
one  should  indulge  in  a  seasonable  concern  about  his  lost 
condition;  the  other  repose  an  humble  confidence  in  God 
as  reconciled  to  him ;  the  one  should  look  upon  the  threat- 
enings  of  God  as  his  doom ;  the  other  embrace  the  pro- 
mises as  his  portion.  Hence  it  follows,  that  while  we  are 
mistaken  about  our  state,  we  cannot  use  endeavours  after 
holiness  in  a  proper  manner.  We  act  like  a  physician 
that  applies  medicines  at  random,  without  knowing  the 


HOLINESS    AND    FELICITY.  281 

disease.  It  is  a  certain  conclusion  that  the  most  generous 
charity,  under  scriptural  limitations,  cannot  avoid,  that 
multitudes  are  destitute  of  holiness ;  and  ought  not  we  to 
inquire  with  proper  anxiety  whether  we  belong  to  that 
number?  Let  us  be  impartial,  and  proceed  according  to 
evidence.  If  we  find  those  marks  of  holiness  in  heart  and 
life  which  have  been  mentioned,  let  not  an  excessive  scru- 
pulosity frighten  us  from  drawing  the  happy  conclusion : 
and,  if  we  find  them  not,  let  us  exercise  so  much  whole- 
some severity  against  ourselves,  as  honestly  to  conclude 
we  are  unholy  sinners,  and  must  be  renewed  before  we 
can  see  the  Lord.  The  conclusion,  no  doubt,  will  give 
you  a  painful  anxiety  :  but  if  you  was  my  dearest  friend, 
I  could  not  form  a  kinder  wish  for  you  than  that  you 
might  be  incessantly  distressed  with  it  till  you  are  born 
again.  This  conclusion  will  not  be  always  avoidable ;  the 
light  of  eternity  will  force  you  upon  it ;  and  whether  is  it 
better  to  give  way  to  it  now,  when  it  may  be  to  your  ad- 
vantage, or  be  forced  to  admit  it  then,  when  it  will  be 
only  a  torment  ? 

2.  Awake,  arise,  and  betake  yourselves  in  earnest  to 
all  the  means  of  grace.  Your  life,  your  eternal  life  is  con- 
cerned, and  therefore  it  calls  for  all  the  ardour  and  earnest- 
ness you  are  capable  of  exerting.  Accustom  yourselves 
to  meditation,  converse  with  yourselves  in  retirement,  and 
live  no  longer  strangers  at  home.  Read  the  word  of  God 
and  other  good  books,  with  diligence,  attention  and  self- 
application.  Attend  on  the  public  administrations  of  the 
gospel,  not  as  a  trifler,  but  as  one  that  sees  his  eternal  all 
concerned.  Shun  the  tents  of  sin,  the  rendezvous  of  sin- 
ners, and  associate  with  those  that  have  experienced  the 
change  you  want,  and  can  give  you  proper  directions. 
Prostrate  yourself  before  the  God  of  heaven,  confess  your 

sin,  implore  his  mercy,  cry  to  him  night  and  day,  and  give 
VOL.  I.— 36 


282  THE    CONNECTION    BETWEEN 

him  no  rest,  till  the  importunity  prevail,  and  you  take  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  by  violence. 

But,  after  all,  acknowledge  that  it  is  God  that  must 
work  in  you  both  to  will  and  to  do,  and  that  when  you 
have  done  all  these  things  you  are  but  unprofitable  serv- 
ants. I  do  not  prescribe  these  directions  as  though  these 
means  could  effect  holiness  in  you ;  no,  they  can  no  more 
do  it  than  a  pen  can  write  without  a  hand.  It  is  the  holy 
Spirit's  province  alone  to  sanctify  a  degenerate  sinner,  but 
he  is  wont  to  do  it  while  we  are  waiting  upon  him  in  the 
use  of  these  means,  though  our  best  endeavours  give  us  no 
title  to  his  grace ;  but  he  may  justly  leave  us  after  all  in 
that  state  of  condemnation  and  corruption  into  which  we 
have  voluntarily  brought  ourselves.  I  go  on, 

III.  And  lastly,  to  urge  you  to  the  use  of  these  means, 
from  the  consideration  mentioned  in  the  text,  the  abso- 
lute necessity  of  holiness  to  the  enjoyment  of  heavenly 
happiness. 

Here  I  would  show  that  holiness  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary, and  that  the  consideration  of  its  necessity  may 
strongly  enforce  the  pursuit  of  it. 

The  necessity  of  holiness  appears  from  the  unchange- 
able appointment  of  heaven,  and  the  nature  of  things. 

1.  The  unchangeable  appointment  of  God  excludes  all 
the  unholy  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  see  2  Cor.  ix.  6 ; 
Rev.  xxi.  27;   Psalm  v.  4,  5;    2  Cor.  v.  17;    Gal.  vi.  15. 
It  is  most  astonishing  that  many  who  profess  to  believe  the 
divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  will  yet  indulge  vain 
hopes  of  heaven  in  opposition  to  the  plainest  declarations 
of  eternal  truth.     But  though  there  were  no  positive  con- 
stitution excluding  the  unholy  from  heaven,  yet, 

2.  The  very  nature  of  things  excludes  sinners  from 
heaven ;  that  is,  it  is  impossible,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
that  while  they  are  unholy,  they  could  receive  happiness 


HOLINESS   AND    FELICITY.  283 

from  the  employments  and  entertainments  of  the  heavenly 
world.  If  these  consisted  in  the  affluence  of  those  things 
which  sinners  delight  in  here;  if  its  enjoyments  were 
earthly  riches,  pleasures,  and  honours;  if  its  employments 
were  the  amusements  of  the  present  life,  then  they  might  be 
happy  there,  as  far  as  their  sordid  natures  are  capable  of 
happiness.  But  these  trifles  have  no  place  in  heaven. 
The  felicity  of  that  state  consists  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
divine  perfections,  and  their  displays  in  the  works  of  crea- 
tion, providence,  and  redemption ;  hence  it  is  described  by 
seeing  the  Lord,  Matt.  v.  8,  and  as  a  state  of  knowledge, 
1  Cor.  xiii.  10-12,  in  the  satisfaction  resulting  thence. 
Ps.  xvii.  15,  and  a  complacency  in  God  as  a  portion,  Ps. 
Ixxiii.  25,  26,  and  is  perpetual  serving  and  praising  the 
Lord ;  and  hence  adoration  is  generally  mentioned  as  the 
employ  of  all  the  hosts  of  heaven.  These  are  the  enter- 
tainments of  heaven,  and  they  that  cannot  find  supreme 
happiness  in  these,  cannot  find  it  in  heaven.  But  it  is  evi- 
dent these  things  could  afford  no  satisfaction  to  an  unholy 
person.  He  would  pine  away  at  the  heavenly  feast,  for 
want  of  appetite  for  the  entertainment ;'  a  holy  God  would 
be  an  object  of  horror  rather  than  delight  to  him,  and  his 
service  would  be  a  weariness,  as  it  is  now.  Hence  it  ap- 
pears, that  if  we  do  not  place  our  supreme  delight  in  these 
things  here,  we  cannot  be  happy  hereafter;  for  there  will 
be  no  change  of  dispositions  in  a  future  state,  but  only  the 
perfection  of  those  predominant  in  us  here,  whether  good 
or  evil.  Either  heaven  must  be  changed,  or  the  sinner, 
before  he  can  be  happy  there.  Hence  also  it  appears, 
that  God's  excluding  such  from  heaven  is  no  more  an  act 
of  cruelty  than  our  not  admitting  a  sick  man  to  a  feast, 
who  has  no  relish  for  the  entertainments ;  or  not  bringing 
a  blind  man  into  the  light  of  the  sun,  or  to  view  a  beauti- 
ful prospect. 


284    CONNECTION  BETWEEN  HOLINESS  AND  FELICITY. 

We  see  then  that  holiness  is  absolutely  necessary;  and 
what  a  great  inducement  should  this  consideration  be  to 

o 

pursue  it;  if  we  do  not  see  the  Lord,  we  shall  never  see 
good.  We  are  cut  off  at  death  from  all  earthly  enjoy- 
ments, and  can  no  longer  make  experiments  to  satisfy  our 
unbounded  desires  with  them ;  and  we  have  no  God  to 
supply  their  room.  We  are  banished  from  all  the  joys  of 
heaven,  and  how  vast,  how  inconceivably  vast  is  the  loss ! 
We  are  doomed  to  the  regions  of  darkness  for  ever,  to 
bear  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire,  to  feel  the  lashes  of  a 
guilty  conscience,  and  to  spend  an  eternity  in  a  horrid  in- 
timacy with  infernal  ghosts ;  and  will  we  not  then  rather 
follow  holiness,  than  incur  so  dreadful  a  doom?  By  the 
terrors  of  the  Lord,  then,  be  persuaded  to  break  off  your 
sins  by  righteousness,  and  follow  holiness ;  without  which 
no  man  shall  see  the  Lord. 


MEDIATORIAL  KINGDOM  AND  GLORIES  OF  CHRIST.    285 


SERMON  X. 

THE  MEDIATORIAL  KINGDOM  AND  GLORIES  OF  JESUS  CHRIST. 

JOHN  xviii.  37. — Pilate  therefore  said  unto  him,  Art  thou 
a  king  then  ?  Jesus  answered,  Thou  sayest  that  I  am  a 
king.  To  this  end  was  I  born,  and  for  this  cause  came 
I  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness  unto  the 
truth. 

KINGS  and  kingdoms  are  the  most  majestic  sounds  in  the 
language  of  mortals,  and  have  filled  the  world  with  noise, 
confusions,  and  blood,  since  mankind  first  left  the  state  of 
nature,  and  formed  themselves  into  societies.  The  dis- 
putes of  kingdoms  for  superiority  have  set  the  world  in 
arms  from  age  to  age,  and  destroyed  or  enslaved  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  human  race ;  and  the  contest  is  not 
yet  decided.  Our  country  has  been  a  region  of  peace  and 
tranquility  for  a  long  time,  but  it  has  not  been  because  the 
lust  of  power  and  riches  is  extinct  in  the  world,  but  be- 
cause we  had  no  near  neighbours  whose  interest  might 
clash  with  ours,  or  who  were  able  to  disturb  us.  The  ab- 
sence of  an  enemy  was  our  sole  defence.  But  now,  when 
the  colonies  of  the  sundry  European  nations  on  this  conti- 
nent begin  to  enlarge,  and  approach  towards  each  other, 
the  scene  is  changed;  now  encroachments,  depredations, 
barbarities,  and  all  the  terrors  of  war  begin  to  surround  and 
alarm  us.  Now  our  country  is  invaded  and  ravaged,  and 
bleeds  in  a  thousand  veins.  We  have  already,*  so  early 

*  This  sermon  was  preached  in  Hanover,  Virginia,  May  9,  1756. 


286  THE   MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM   AND 

in  the  year,  received  alarm  upon  alarm :  and  we  may  expect 
the  alarms  to  grow  louder  and  louder  as  the  season  advances. 
These  commotions  and  perturbations  have  had  one  good 
effect  upon  me,  and  that  is,  they  have  carried  away  my 
thoughts  of  late  into  a  serene  and  peaceful  region,  a  re- 
gion beyond  the  reach  of  confusion  and  violence ;  I  mean 
the  kingdom  of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  And  thither,  my 
brethren,  I  would  also  transport  your  minds  this  day,  as 
the  best  refuge  from  this  boisterous  world,  and  the  most 
agreeable  mansion  for  the  lovers  of  peace  and  tranquillity. 
I  find  it  advantageous  both  to  you  and  myself,  to  entertain 
you  with  those  subjects  that  have  made  the  deepest  impres- 
sion upon  my  own  mind :  and  this  is  the  reason  why  I 
choose  the  present  subject.  In  my  text  you  hear  one  en- 
tering a  claim  to  a  kingdom,  whom  you  would  conclude, 
if  you  regarded  only  his  outward  appearance,  to  be  the 
meanest  and  vilest  of  mankind.  To  hear  a  powerful 
prince,  at  the  head  of  a  victorious  army,  attended  with  all 
the  royalties  of  his  character,  to  hear  such  an  one  claim 
the  kingdom  he  had  acquired  by  force  of  arms,  would  not 
be  strange.  But  here  the  despised  Nazarene,  rejected  by 
his  nation,  forsaken  by  his  followers,  accused  as  the  worst 
of  criminals,  standing  defenceless  at  Pilate's  bar,  just  about 
to  be  condemned  and  hung  on  a  cross,  like  a  malefactor 
and  a  slave;  here  he  speaks  in  a  royal  style,  even  to  his 
judge,  I  am  a  King :  for  this  purpose  was  I  born,  and 
for  this  cause  came  I  into  the  world.  Strange  language 
indeed  to  proceed  from  his  lips  in  these  circumstances ! 
But  the  truth  is,  a  great,  a  divine  personage  is  concealed 
under  this  disguise ;  and  his  kingdom  is  of  such  a  nature, 
that  his  abasement  and  crucifixion  were  so  far  from  being 
a  hinderance  to  it,  that  they  were  the  only  way  to  acquire 
it.  These  sufferings  were  meritorious;  and  by  these  he 
purchased  his  subjects,  and  a  right  to  rule  them. 


GLORIES    OF    JESUS    CHRIST.  287 

The  occasion  of  these  words  was  this :  the  unbelieving 
Jews  were  determined  to  put  Jesus  to  death  as  an  impos- 
tor. The  true  reason  of  their  opposition  to  him  was,  that 
he  had  severely  exposed  their  hypocrisy,  claimed  the  cha- 
racter of  the  Messiah,  without  answering  their  expecta- 
tions as  a  temporal  prince  and  mighty  conqueror;  and  in- 
troduced a  new  religion,  which  superseded  the  law  of 
Moses,  in  which  they  had  been  educated.  But  this  rea- 
son they  knew  would  have  but  little  weight  with  Pilate 
the  Roman  governor,  who  was  a  heathen,  and  had  no  re- 
gard to  their  religion.  They  therefore  bring  a  charge  of 
another  kind,  which  they  knew  would  touch  the  governor 
very  sensibly,  and  that  was,  that  Christ  had  set  himself  up 
as  the  King  of  the  Jews ;  which  was  treason  against  Caasar 
the  Roman  emperor,  under  whose  yoke  they  then  were. 
This  was  all  pretence  and  artifice.  They  would  now  seem 
to  be  very  loyal  to  the  emperor,  and  unable  to  bear  with 
any  claims  inconsistent  with  his  authority;  whereas,  in 
truth,  they  were  impatient  of  a  foreign  government,  and 
were  watching  for  any  opportunity  to  shake  it  off.  And 
had  Christ  been  really  guilty  of  the  charge  they  alleged 
against  him,  he  would  have  been  the  more  acceptable  to 
them.  Had  he  set  himself  up  as  a  king  of  the  Jews,  in 
opposition  to  Caesar,  and  employed  his  miraculous  powers 
to  make  good  his  claim,  the  whole  nation  would  have  wel- 
comed him  as  their  deliverer,  and  flocked  round  his  stand- 
ard. But  Jesus  came  not  to  work  a  deliverance  of  this 
kind,  nor  to  erect  such  a  kingdom  as  they  desired,  and 
therefore  they  rejected  him  as  an  impostor.  This  charge, 
however,  they  bring  against  him,  in  order  to  carry  their 
point  with  the  heathen  governor.  They  knew  he  was 
zealous  for  the  honour  and  interest  of  Caesar  his  master; 
and  Tiberius,  the  then  Roman  emperor,  was  so  jealous  a 
prince,  and  kept  so  many  spies  over  his  governors  in  all 


288  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    AND 

the  provinces,  that  they  were  obliged  to  be  very  circum- 
spect, and  show  the  strictest  regard  for  his  rights,  in  order 
to  escape  degradation,  or  a  severer  punishment.  It  was 
this  that  determined  Pilate,  in  the  struggle  with  his  con- 
science, to  condemn  the  innocent  Jesus.  He  was  afraid 
the  Jews  would  inform  against  him,  as  dismissing  one  that 
set  up  as  the  rival  of  Caesar ;  and  the  consequence  of  this 
he  well  knew.  The  Jews  were  sensible  of  this,  and  there- 
fore they  insist  upon  this  charge,  and  at  length  plainly  tell 
him,  If  thou  let  this  man  go,  thou  art  not  Casar's  friend. 
Pilate,  therefore,  who  cared  but  little  what  innovations 
Christ  should  introduce  into  the  Jewish  religion,  thought 
proper  to  inquire  into  this  matter,  and  asks  him,  "  Art  thou 
the  King  of  the  Jews?"  dost  thou,  indeed,  claim  such  a 
character,  which  may  interfere  with  Caesar's  government? 
Jesus  replies,  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world  ;  as  much 
as  to  say,  "  I  do  not  deny  that  I  claim  a  kingdom,  but  it  is 
of  such  a  nature,  that  it  need  give  no  alarm  to  the  kings 
of  the  earth.  Their  kingdoms  are  of  this  world,  but 
mine  is  spiritual  and  divine,*  and  therefore  cannot  inter- 
fere with  theirs.  If  my  kingdom  were  of  this  world,  like 
theirs,  I  would  take  the  same  methods  with  them  to  obtain 
and  secure  it ;  my  servants  would  fight  for  me,  that  I  should 
not  be  delivered  to  the  Jews ;  but  now,  you  see,  I  use  no 
such  means  for  my  defence,  or  to  raise  me  to  my  kingdom  : 
and  therefore  you  may  be  assured  my  kingdom  is  not  from 
hence,  and  can  give  the  Roman  emperor  no  umbrage  for 
suspicion  or  uneasiness."  Pilate  answers  to  this  purpose  : 
Thou  dost,  however,  speak  of  a  kingdom ;  and  art  thou  a 
king  then  1  dost  thou  in  any  sense  claim  that  character  ?  The 

*  Domitian,  the  Roman  emperor,  being  apprehensive  that  Christ's  earthly 
relations  might  claim  a  kingdom  in  his  right,  inquired  of  them  concerning 
the  nature  of  his  kingdom,  and  when  and  where  it  should  be  set  up.  They 
replied,  "  It  was  not  earthly,  but  heavenly  and  angelical,  and  to  be  set  up 
at  the  end  of  the  world." 


GLORIES    OF    JESUS    CHRIST.  289 

poor  prisoner  boldly  replies,  Thou  sayest  that  lam  a  king  ; 
that  is,  "  Thou  hast  struck  upon  the  truth :  I  am  indeed  a 
king,  in  a  certain  sense,  and  nothing  shall  constrain  me  to 
renounce  the  title.  To  this  end  was  I  born,  and  for  this 
cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness  to 
the  truth  ;  particularly  to  this  truth,  which  now  looks  so 
unlikely,  namely,  that'  I  am  really  a  king.  I  was  born  to  a 
kingdom  and  a  crown,  and  came  into  the  world  to  take  pos- 
session of  my  right."  This  is  that  good  confession  which 
St.  Paul  tells  us,  1  Tim.  vi.  13,  our  Lord  witnessed  before 
Pontius  Pilate.  Neither  the  hopes  of  deliverance,  nor  the 
terrors  of  death,  could  cause  him  to  retract  it,  or  renounce 
his  claim. 

In  prosecuting  this  subject  I  intend  only  to  inquire  into 
the  nature  and  properties  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  And 
in  order  to  render  my  discourse  the  more  familiar,  and  to 
adapt  it  to  the  present  state  of  our  country,  I  shall  con- 
sider this  kingdom  in  contrast  with  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth,  with  which  we  are  better  acquainted. 

The  Scriptures  represent  the  Lord  Jesus  under  a  great 
variety  of  characters,  which,  though  insufficient  fully  to 
represent  him,  yet,  in  conjunction,  assist  us  to  form  such 
exalted  ideas  of  this  great  personage  as  mortals  can  reach. 
He  is  a  Surety,  that  undertook  and  paid  the  dreadful  debt 
of  obedience  and  suffering,  which  sinners  owed  to  the 
divine  justice  and  law :  He  is  a  Priest,  a  great  High  Priest, 
that  once  offered  himself  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin;  and  now 
dwells  in  his  native  heaven,  at  his  Father's  right  hand,  as 
the  Advocate  and  Intercessor  of  his  people :  He  is  a 
Prophet,  who  teaches  his  church,  in  all  ages,  by  his  word 
and  spirit:  He  is  the  supreme  and  universal  Judge,  to 
whom  men  and  angels  are  accountable;  and  his  name  is 
Jesus,  a  Saviour,  because  he  saves  his  people  from  their 
sins.  Under  these  august  and  endearing  characters  he  is 

VOL.  I.— 37 


290  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KIXGDOM    AND 

often  represented.  But  there  is  one  character  under 
•which  he  is  uniformly  represented,  both  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  and  that  is,  that  of  a  King,  a  great  King, 
invested  with  universal  authority.  And  upon  his  appear- 
ance in  the  flesh,  all  nature,  and  especially  the  gospel- 
church,  is  represented  as  placed  under  him,  as  his  king- 
dom. Under  this  idea  the  Jews  were  taught  by  their 
prophets  to  look  for  him ;  and  it  was  their  understanding 
these  predictions  of  some  illustrious  king  that  should  rise 
from  the  house  of  David,  in  a  literal  and  carnal  sense,  that 
occasioned  their  unhappy  prejudices  concerning  the  Mes- 
siah as  a  secular  prince  and  conqueror.  Under  this  idea 
the  Lord  Jesus  represented  himself  while  upon  earth,  and 
under  this  idea  he  was  published  to  the  world  by  his 
apostles.  The  greatest  kings  of  the  Jewish  nation,  par- 
ticularly David  and  Solomon,  were  types  of  him:  and 
many  things  are  primarily  applied  to  them,  which  have 
their  complete  and  final  accomplishment  in  him  alone.  It 
is  to  him  ultimately  we  are  to  apply  the  second  psalm :  "  I 
have  set  my  King,"  says  Jehovah,  "  upon  my  holy  hill  of 
Zion.  Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for 
thine  inheritance,  and  the  utmost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy 
possession:"  Psalm  ii.  6,  8.  If  we  read  the  seventy- 
second  Psalm  we  shall  easily  perceive  that  one  greater 
than  Solomon  is  there.  "  In  his  days  shall  the  righteous 
flourish;  and  abundance  of  peace  so  long  as  the  moon  en- 
dureth.  All  kings  shall  fall  down  before  him ;  all  nations 
shall  serve  him.  His  name  shall  continue  for  ever;  his 
name  shall  be  continued  as  long  as  the  sun :  and  men  shall 
be  blessed  in  him ;  and  all  nations  shall  call  him  blessed : 
Psalm  Ixxxii.  7,  11,  17. 

The  hundred  and  tenth  Psalm  is  throughout  a  celebra- 
tion of  the  kingly  and  priestly  office  of  Christ  united. 
The  Lord,  says  David,  said  unto  my  Lord,  unto  that  divine 


GLORIES    OF    JESUS    CHRIST.  291 

person  who  is  my  Lord,  and  will  also  be  my  son,  Sit  thou 
at  my  right  hand,  in  the  highest  honour  and  authority, 
until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool.  Rule  thou  in  the 
midst  of  thine  enemies.  Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in 
the  day  of  thy  power,  and  submit  to  thee  in  crowds  as 
numerous  as  the  drops  of  the  morning  dew.  Ps.  ex.  1-3. 
The  evangelical  prophet  Isaiah  is  often  transported  with 
the  foresight  of  this  illustrious  King,  and  the  glorious  king- 
dom of  his  grace : — "  Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a 
son  is  given;  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his 
shoulder;  and  his  name  shall  be  called — the  Prince  of 
Peace.  Of  the  increase  of  his  government  and  peace 
there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the  throne  of  David  and  upon 
his  kingdom,  to  order  it,  and  to  establish  it  with  judgment 
and  with  justice  from  henceforth  even  for  ever."  Isa.  ix. 
6,  7.  This  is  he  who  is  described  as  another  David  in 
Ezekiel's  prophecy,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold, 
I  will  take  the  children  of  Israel  from  among  the  heathen. 
And  I  will  make  them  one  nation — and  one  king  shall  be 
king  to  them  all,  even  David  my  servant  shall  be  king  over 
them."  Ezek.  xxxvii.  21,  22,  24.  This  is  the  kingdom 
represented  to  Nebuchadnezzar  in  his  dream,  as  "  a  stone 
cut  out  without  hands,  which  became  a  great  mountain, 
and  filled  the  whole  earth."  And  Daniel,  in  expounding 
the  dream,  having  described  the  Babylonian,  the  Persian, 
the  Grecian,  and  Roman  empires,  subjoins,  "  In  the  days 
of  these  kings,"  that  is,  of  the  Roman  emperors,  "  shall  the 
God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which  shall  never  be  de- 
stroyed ;  and  the  kingdom  shall  not,"  like  the  former,  "  be 
left  to  other  people;  but  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  con- 
sume all  these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand  for  ever." 
Dan.  ii.  34,  35,  44.  There  is  no  character  which  our 
Lord  so  often  assumed  in  the  days  of  his  flesh  as  that  of 
the  Son  of  man;  and  he  no  doubt  alludes  to  a  majestic 


292  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    AND 

vision  in  Daniel,  the  only  place  where  this  character  is 
given  him  in  the  Old  Testament :  "  I  saw  in  the  night 
visions,"  says  Daniel,  "  and  behold  one  like  the  Son  of  man 
came  to  the  Ancient  of  days,  and  there  was  given  him 
dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  na- 
tions, and  languages,  should  serve  him;  his  dominion  is  an 
everlasting  dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his 
kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed,"  Dan.  vii.  13, 
14,  like  the  tottering  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  which  are 
perpetually  rising  and  falling.  This  is  the  king  that 
Zechariah  refers  to  when,  in  prospect  of  his  triumphant 
entrance  into  Jerusalem,  he  calls  the  inhabitants  to  give  a 
proper  reception  to  so  great  a  Prince.  "  Rejoice  greatly, 

0  daughter  of  Zion;  shout,  O  daughter  of  Jerusalem: 
behold  thy  king  cometh   unto  thee,"  &c.    Zech.  ix.  9. 
Thus  the  prophets  conspire  to  ascribe  royal  titles  and  a 
glorious  kingdom  to  the  Messiah.     And  these  early  and 
plain  notices  of  him  raised  a  general  expectation  of  him 
under  this  royal  character.     It  was  from  these  prophecies 
concerning  him  as  a  king,  that  the  Jews  took  occasion,  as 

1  observed,  to  look  for  the  Messiah  as  a  temporal  prince; 
and  it  was  a  long  time  before  the  apostles  themselves  were 
delivered  from  these  carnal  prejudices.     They  were  solici- 
tous about  posts  of  honour  in  that  temporal  kingdom  which 
they  expected  he  would  set  up:  and  even  after  his  resur- 
rection, they  cannot  forbear  asking  him,  "  Lord,  wilt  thou 
at  this  time  restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel?"  Acts  i. 
6,  that  is,  "  Wilt  thou  now  restore  the  Jews  to  their  former 
liberty  and  independency,  and  deliver  them  from   their 
present  subjection  to  the  Romans?"     It  was  under   this 
view  that  Herod  was  alarmed  at  his  birth,  and  shed  the 
blood  of  so  many  innocents,  that  he   might  not  escape. 
He  was  afraid  of  him  as  the  heir  of  David's  family  and 
crown,  who  might  dispossess  him  of  the  government ;  nay, 


GLORIES    OF    JESUS    CHRIST.  293 

he  was  expected  by  other  nations  under  the  character  of  a 
mighty  king;  and  they  no  doubt  learned  this  notion  of  him 
from  the  Jewish  prophecies,  as  well  as  their  conversation 
with  that  people.  Hence  the  Magi,  or  eastern  wise  men, 
when  they  came  to  pay  homage  to  him  upon  his  birth,  in- 
quired after  him  in  this  language, — "Where  is  he  that  is 
born  King  of  the  Jews?"  Matt.  ii.  2.  And  what  is  still 
more  remarkable,  we  are  told  by  two  heathen  historians, 
that  about  the  time  of  his  appearance  a  general  expectation 
of  him  under  this  character  prevailed  through  the  world. 
"  Many,"  says  Tacitus,  "  had  a  persuasion  that  it  was  con- 
tained in  the  ancient  writings  of  the  priests,  that  at  that 
very  time  the  east  should  prevail,  and  that  some  de- 
scendant from  Judah  should  obtain  the  universal  govern- 
ment."* Suetonius  speaks  to  the  same  purpose:  "An 
old  and  constant  opinion,"  says  he,  "  commonly  prevailed 
through  all  the  east,  that  it  was  in  the  fates,  that  some 
should  rise  out  of  Judea,  who  should  obtain  the  govern- 
ment of  the  world."  t  This  royal  character  Christ  him- 
self assumed,  even  when  he  conversed  among  mortals  in 
the  humble  form  of  a  servant.  "The  Father,"  says  he, 
"  hath  given  me  power  over  all  flesh."  John  xvii.  2.  Yea, 
"  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth  is  given  to  me,"  Matt, 
xxviii.  18.  The  gospel  church  which  he  erected  is  most 
commonly  called  the  kingdom  of  heaven  or  of  God,  in  the 
evangelists:  when  he  was  about  to  introduce  it,  this  was 
the  proclamation:  "The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." 

*  Pluribus  persuasio  inerat,  antiquis  sncerdotum  literis  contineri,  eo  ipso 
tetnpore  fore,  ut  valesce.ret  oriens  profectique  Judea  rerum  potirentur. 
Tacit.  Hist.  lib.  v.  cap.  13. 

f  Percrebuerat  oriente  toto  vetus  &  constans  opinio,  esse  in  fatis,  ut  eo 
tempore  Judca  profecti  rerum  potirentur.  Suet,  in  Vesp.  c.  4. 

The  sameness  of  the  expectation  is  remarkably  evident,  from  the  sameness 
of  the  words  in  which  these  two  historians  express  it.  Judea  profecti  rerum 
potirentur.  It  was  not  only  a  common  expectation,  but  it  was  commonly 
expressed  in  the  same  language. 


294  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    AND 

Under  this  character  also  his  servants  and  disciples  cele- 
brated and  preached  him.  Gabriel  led  the  song  in  fore- 
telling his  birth  to  his  mother.  "  He  shall  be  great,  and 
the  Lord  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father 
David;  and  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for 
ever:  and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end."  Luke  i. 
32,  33.  St.  Peter  boldly  tells  the  murderers  of  Christ, 
"  God  hath  made  that  same  Jesus  whom  ye  have  crucified, 
both  Lord  and  Christ,"  Acts  ii.  36;  "and  exalted  him, 
with  his  right  hand,  to  be  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour."  Acts 
v.  31.  And  St.  Paul  repeatedly  represents  him  as  ad- 
vanced "far  above  principality,  and  power,  and  might,  and 
dominion,  and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in  this 
world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come :  and  hath  put  all 
things  under  his  feet,  and  gave  him  to  be  the  head  over  all 
things  to  his  church.  Eph.  i.  21,  22;  Phil.  ii.  9-11. 
Yea,  to  him  all  the  hosts  of  heaven,  and  even  the  whole 
creation  in  concert,  ascribe  "power  and  strength,  and 
honour,  and  glory,"  Rev.  v.  12.  Pilate  the  heathen  was  . 
overruled  to  give  a  kind  of  accidental  testimony  to  this 
truth,  and  to  publish  it  to  different  nations,  by  the  inscrip- 
tion upon  the  cross  in  the  three  languages  then  most  in 
use,  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew:  "This  is  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  King  of  the  Jews;"  and  all  the  remonstrances 
of  the  Jews  could  not  prevail  upon  him  to  alter  it.  Finally, 
it  is  he  that  wears  "  on  his  vesture,  and  on  his  thigh,  this 
name  written,  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords,"  Rev.  xix. 
16;  and  as  his  name  is,  so  is  he. 

Thus  you  see,  my  brethren,  by  these  instances,  selected 
out  of  many,  that  the  kingly  character  and  dominion  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  runs  through  the  whole  Bible.  That  of  a 
king  is  his  favourite  character,  in  which  he  glories,  and  , 
which  is  the  most  expressive  of  his  office.  And  this  con- 
sideration alone  may  convince  you  that  this  character  is 


GLORIES    OF    JESUS    CHRIST,  f  295 

of  the  greatest  importance,  and  worthy  of  your  most  at- 
tentive regard. 

It  is  the  mediatorial. kingdom  of  Christ  that  is  here  in- 
tended, not  that  which  as  God  he  exercises  over  all  the 
works  of  his  hand;  it  is  that  kingdom  which  is  an  empire 
of  grace,  and  administration  of  mercy  over  our  guilty 
world.  It  is  the  dispensation  intended  for  the  salvation 
of  fallen  sinners  of  our  race  by  the  gospel ;  and  on  this 
account  the  gospel  is  often  called  the  kingdom  of  heaven ; 
because  its  happy  consequences  are  not  confined  to  this 
earth,  but  appear  in  heaven  in  the  highest  perfection,  and 
last  through  all  eternity.  Hence,  not  only  the  Church  of 
Christ  on  earth,  and  the  dispensation  of  the  gospel,  but  all 
the  saints  in  heaven,  and  that  more  finished  economy 
under  which  they  are  placed,  are  all  included  in  the  king- 
dom of  Christ.  Here  his  kingdom  is  in  its  infancy,  but 
in  heaven  is  arrived  to  perfection ;  but  it  is  substantially 
the  same.  Though  the  immediate  design  of  this  kingdom 
is  the  salvation  of  believers  of  the  guilty  race  of  man,  and 
such  are  its  subjects  in  a  peculiar  sense ;  yet  it  extends  to 
all  worlds,  to  heaven,  and  earth,  and  hell.  The  whole 
universe  is  put  under  a  mediatorial  head ;  but  then,  as  the 
apostle  observes,  "  he  is  made  head  over  all  things  to  his 
church,"  Eph.  i.  22 ;  that  is,  for  the  benefit  and  salvation 
of  his  Church.  As  Mediator  he  is  carrying  on  a  glorious 
scheme  for  the  recovery  of  man,  and  all  parts  of  the  uni- 
verse are  interested  or  concern  themselves  in  this  grand 
event;  and  therefore  they  are  all  subjected  to  him,  that 
he  may  so  manage  them  as  to  promote  this  end,  and  baffle 
and  overwhelm  all  opposition.  The  elect  angels  rejoice 
in  so  benevolent  a  design  for  peopling  their  mansions,  left 
vacant  by  the  fall  of  so  many  of  their  fellow-angels,  with 
colonies  transplanted  from  our  world,  from  a  race  of  crea- 
tures that  they  had  given  for  lost.  And  therefore  Christ 


296  THE   MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM   AND 

as  a  Mediator,  is  made  the  head  of  all  the  heavenly  armies, 
and  he  employs  them  as  "  his  ministering  spirits,  to  minis- 
ter to  them  that  are  heirs  of  salvation."  Heb.  i.  14. 
These  glorious  creatures  are  always  on  the  wing,  ready  to 
discharge  his  orders  in  any  part  of  his  vast  empire,  and 
delight  to  be  employed  in  the  services  of  his  mediatorial 
kingdom.  This  is  also  an  event  in  which  the  fallen  angels 
deeply  interest  themselves;  they  have  united  all  their 
force  and  art  for  near  six  thousand  years  to  disturb  and 
subvert  his  kingdom,  and  blast  the  designs  of  redeeming 
love;  they  therefore  are  all  subjected  to  the  control  of 
Christ,  and  he  shortens  and  lengthens  their  chains  as  he 
pleases,  and  they  cannot  go  a  hair's  breadth  beyond  his 
permission.  The  Scriptures  represent  our  world  in  its 
state  of  guilt  and  misery  as  the  kingdom  of  Satan ;  sin- 
ners, while  slaves  to  sin,  are  his  subjects;  and  every  act 
of  disobedience  against  God  is  an  act  of  homage  to  this 
infernal  prince.  Hence  Satan  is  called  the  God  of  this 
world,  2  Cor.  iv.  4;  the  prince  of  this  world,  John  xii.  31; 
the  power  of  darkness,  Luke  xxii.  53 ;  the  prince  af  the 
power  of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  child- 
ren of  disobedience.  Eph.  ii.  3.  And  sinners  are  said  to 
be  taken  captive  by  him  at  his  will.  2  Tim.  ii.  26.  Hence 
also  the  ministers  of  Christ,  who  are  employed  to  recover 
sinners  to  a  state  of  holiness  and  happiness,  are  repre- 
sented as  soldiers  armed  for  war ;  not  indeed  with  carnal 
weapons,  but  with  those  which  are  spiritual,  plain  truth 
arguments,  and  miracles;  and  "these  are  made  mighty 
through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds,  casting 
down  imaginations,  and  every  high  thing  that  exalteth  it- 
self against  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  bringing  into  cap- 
tivity every  thought  to  the  obedience  of  Christ."  2  Cor. 
x.  3,  4,  5.  And  Christians  in  general  are  represented  as 
"  wrestling,  not  with  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  princi- 


GLORIES    OF    JESUS    CHRIST.  297 

palities,,  against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness 
of  this  world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places." 
Eph.  vi.  12.  Hence  also  in  particular  it  is,  that  the  death 
of  Christ  is  represented  not  as  a  defeat,  but  as  an  illustri- 
ous conquest  gained  over  the  powers  of  hell ;  because,  by 
this  means,  a  way  was  opened  for  the  deliverance  of  sin- 
ners from  under  their  power,  and  restoring  them  unto 
liberty  and  the  favour  of  God.  By  that  strange,  con- 
temptible weapon,  the  cross,  and  by  the  glorious  resur- 
rection of  Jesus,  he  "  spoiled  principalities  and  powers, 
and  made  a  show  of  them  openly,  triumphing  over  them." 
Col.  ii.  15.  "  Through  death,"  says  the  apostle,  "  he  de- 
stroyed him  that  had  the  power  of  death;  that  is,  the 
devil."  Heb.  ii.  14.  Had  not  Christ  by  his  death  offered 
a  propitiatory  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  men,  they  would 
have  continued  for  ever  under  the  tyranny  of  Satan ;  but 
he  has  purchased  liberty,  life,  and  salvation  for  them ;  and 
thus  he  hath  destroyed  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  and 
translated  multitudes  from  it  into  his  own  gracious  and 
glorious  kingdom. 

Hence,  upon  the  right  of  redemption,  his  mediatorial 
authority  extends  to  the  infernal  regions,  and  he  controls 
and  restrains  those  malignant,  mighty,  and  turbulent  po- 
tentates, according  to  his  pleasure.  Farther,  the  inani- 
mate world  is  connected  with  our  Lord's  design  to  save 
sinners,  and  therefore  is  subjected  to  him  as  Mediator. 
He  causes  the  sun  to  rise,  the  rain  to  fall,  and  the  earth  to 
yield  her  increase,  to  furnish  provision  for  the  subjects  of 
his  grace,  and  to  raise,  support,  and  accommodate  heirs 
for  his  heavenly  kingdom.  As  for  the  sons  of  men,  who 
are  more  immediately  concerned  in  this  kingdom,  and  for 
whose  sake  it  was  erected,  they  are  all  its  subjects ;  but 
then  they  are  of  different  sorts,  according  to  their  charac- 
ters. Multitudes  are  rebels  against  his  government;  that 
VOL.  I.— 38 


298  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    AND 

is,  they  do  not  voluntarily  submit  to  his  authority,  nor 
choose  they  to  do  his  service :  they  will  not  obey  his  laws. 
But  they  are  his  subjects  notwithstanding;  that  is,  he  rules 
and  manages  them  as  he  pleases,  whether  they  will  or  not. 
This  power  is  necessary  to  carry  on  successfully  his  gra- 
cious design  towards  his  people ;  for  unless  he  had  the 
management  of  his  enemies,  they  might  baffle  his  under- 
takings, and  successfully  counteract  the  purposes  of  his 
love.  The  kings  of  the  earth,  as  well  as  vulgar  rebels  of 
a  private  character,  have  often  set  themselves  against  his 
kingdom,  and  sometimes  they  have  flattered  themselves 
they  had  entirely  demolished  it.*  But  Jesus  reigns  abso- 
solute  and  supreme  over  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  over- 
rules and  controls  them  as  he  thinks  proper;  and  he  dis- 
poses all  the  revolutions,  the  rises  and  falls  of  kingdoms 
and  empires,  so  as  to  be  subservient  to  the  great  designs 
of  his  mediation;  and  their  united  policies  and  powers 
cannot  frustrate  the  work  which  he  has  undertaken.  But 
besides  these  rebellious,  involuntary  subjects,  he  has  (bles- 
sed be  his  name !)  gained  the  consent  of  thousands,  and 
they  have  become  his  willing  subjects  by  their  own  choice. 
They  regard  his  authority,  they  love  his  government,  they 
make  it  their  study  to  please  him,  and  to  do  his  will. 
Over  these  he  exercises  a  government  of  special  grace 
here,  and  he  will  make  them  the  happy  subjects  of  the 
kingdom  of  his  glory  hereafter.  And  it  is  his  government 
over  these  that  I  intend  more  particularly  to  consider. 
Once  more,  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  is  not  confined  to  this 
world,  but  all  the  millions  of  mankind  in  the  invisible 
world  are  under  his  dominion,  and  will  continue  so  to  ever- 
lasting ages.  He  is  the  Lord  of  the  dead  and  of  the  liv- 

*  In  the  10th  and  last  Kotnan  persecution,  Diodesian  had  a  medal  struck 
with  this  inscription,  "  The  Christian  name  demolished,  and  the  worship 
of  the  gods  restored." 


GLORIES    OF    JESUS    CHRIST.  299 

ing,  Rom.  xiv.  9,  and  has  the  keys  of  Hades,  the  vast  in- 
visible world,  (including  heaven  as  well  as  hell)  and  of 
death.  Rev.  i.  18.  It  is  he  that  turns  the  key,  and  opens 
the  door  of  death  for  mortals  to  pass  from  world  to  world ; 
it  is  he  that  opens  the  gates  of  heaven,  and  welcomes  and 
admits  the  nations  that  keep  the  commandments  of  God; 
and  it  is  he  that  opens  the  prison  of  hell,  and  locks  it  fast 
upon  the  prisoners  of  divine  justice.  He  will  for  ever 
exercise  authority  over  the  vast  regions  of  the  unseen 
world,  and  the  unnumbered  multitudes  of  spirits  with 
which  they  are  peopled.  You  hence  see,  my  brethren, 
the  universal  extent  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom;  and  in 
this  respect  how  much  does  it  differ  from  all  the  kingdoms 
of  the  earth  1  The  kingdoms  of  Great  Britain,  France, 
China,  Persia,  are  but  little  spots  of  the  globe.  Our 
world  has  indeed  been  oppressed  in  former  times  with 
what  mortals  call  universal  monarchies;  such  were  the 
Babylonian,  the  Persian  the  Grecian,  and  especially  the 
Roman.  But  in  truth,  these  were  so  far  from  being 
strictly  universal,  that  a  considerable  part  of  the  habitable 
earth  was  not  so  much  as  known  to  them.  But  this  is  an 
empire  strictly  universal.  It  extends  over  land  and  sea ; 
it  reaches  beyond  the  planetary  worlds,  and  all  the  lumina- 
ries of  heaven;  nay,  beyond  the  throne  of  the  most  ex- 
alted archangels,  and  downward  to  the  lowest  abyss  of 
hell.  An  universal  empire  in  the  hands  of  a  mortal  is  a 
huge,  unwieldy  thing ;  a  heap  of  confusion  ;  a  burthen  to 
mankind;  and  it  has  always  rushed  headlong  from  its 
glory,  and  fallen  to  pieces  by  its  own  weight.  But  Jesus 
is  equal  to  the  immense  province  of  an  empire  strictly 
universal ;  his  hand  is  able  to  hold  the  reins ;  and  it  is  the 
blessing  of  our  world  to  be  under  his  administration.  He 
will  turn  what  appears  to  us  scenes  of  confusion  into  per- 
fect order,  and  convince  all  worlds  that  he  has  not  taken 


300  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    AND 

one  wrong  step  in  the  whole  plan  of  his  infinite  govern- 
ment. 

The  kingdoms  of  the  world  have  their  laws  and  ordi- 
nances, and  so  has  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Look  into 
your  Bibles,  and  there  you  will  find  the  laws  of  his  king- 
dom from  its  first  foundation  immediately  after  the  fall  of 
man.  The  laws  of  human  government  are  often  defective 
or  unrighteous  ;  but  these  are  perfect,  holy,  just,  and  good. 
Human  laws  are  enforced  with  sanctions  :  but  the  rewards 
and  punishments  can  only  affect  our  mortal  bodies,  and 
cannot  reach  beyond  the  present  life  :  but  the  sanctions  of 
these  divine  laws  are  eternal,  and  there  shall  never  be  an 
end  to  their  execution.  Everlasting  happiness  and  ever- 
lasting misery,  of  the  most  exquisite  kind  and  the  highest, 
degree,  are  the  rewards  and  punishments  which  the  im- 
mortal King  distributes  among  his  immortal  subjects ;  and 
they  become  his  character,  and  are  adapted  to  their  na- 
ture. 

Human  laws  extend  only  to  outward  actions,  but  these 
laws  reach  the  heart,  and  the  principle  of  action  within. 
Not  a  secret  thought,  not  a  motion  of  the  soul,  is  ex- 
empted from  them.  If  the  subjects  of  earthly  kings  ob- 
serve a  decorum  in  their  outward  conduct,  and  give  no 
visible  evidence  of  disloyalty,  they  are  treated  as  good 
subjects,  though  they  should  be  enemies  in  their  hearts. 
"  But  Jesus  is  the  Lord  of  souls ;"  he  makes  his  subjects 
bow  their  hearts  as  well  as  the  knee  to  him.  He  sweetly 
commands  their  thoughts  and  affections  as  well  as  their 
external  practice,  and  makes  himself  inwardly  beloved  as 
well  as  outwardly  obeyed.  His  subjects  are  such  on 
whom  he  may  depend :  they  are  all  ready  to  lay  down 
their  lives  for  him.  Love,  cordial,  unfeigned,  ardent  love, 
is  the  principle  of  all  their  obedience :  and  hence  it  is,  that 
his  commandments  are  not  grievous,  but  delightful  to  them. 


GLORIES    OF    JESUS    CHRIST.  301 

Other  kings  have  their  ministers  and  officers  of  state. 
In  like  manner  Jesus  employs  the  armies  of  heaven  as 
ministering  spirits  in  his  mediatorial  kingdom  :  besides  these 
he  has  ministers,  of  an  humbler  form,  who  negotiate  more 
immediately  in  his  name  with  mankind.  These  are  in- 
trusted with  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,  to  beseech  men, 
in  his  stead,  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  These  are  ap- 
pointed to  preach  his  word,  to  administer  his  ordinances, 
and  to  manage  the  affairs  of  his  kingdom.  This  view 
gives  a  peculiar  dignity  and  importance  to  this  office. 
These  should  be  adorned,  not  like  the  ministers  of  earthly 
courts,  with  the  trappings  of  gold  and  silver,  but  with  the 
beauties  of  holiness,  the  ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet, 
zealous  and  faithful  spirit,  and  a  life  becoming  the  gospel 
of  Christ. 

Other  kings  have  their  soldiers :  so  all  the  legions  of 
the  elect  angels,  the  armies  of  heaven,  are  the  soldiers  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  under  his  command.  This  he  asserted 
when  he  was  in  such  defenceless  circumstances,  that  he 
seemed  to  be  abandoned  by  heaven  and  earth.  "  I  could 
pray  to  my  father,"  says  he,  "  and  he  would  send  me  more 
than  twelve  legions  of  angels"  Matt.  xxvi.  53.  I  cannot 
forbear  reading  to  you  one  of  the  most  majestic  descrip- 
tions of  this  all-conquering  hero  and  his  army,  which  the 
language  of  mortality  is  capable  of.  Rev.  xix.  11.  16.  "I 
saw  heaven  open,  says  St.  John,  "  and  behold  a  white 
horse,"  an  emblem  of  victory  and  triumph,  "and  he  that 
sat  upon  him  was  called  Faithful  and  True."  How  dif- 
ferent a  character  from  that  of  mortal  conquerors !  "  And 
in  righteousness  he  doth  judge  and  make  war."  War  is 
generally  a  scene  of  injustice  and  lawless  violence;  and 
those  plagues  of  mankind,  we  call  heroes  and  warriors, 
use  their  arms  to  gratify  their  own  avarice  or  ambition, 
and  make  encroachments  upon  others.  Jesus,  the  prince 


302  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    AND 

of  peace,  makes  war  too,  but  it  is  in  righteousness ;  it  is 
in  the  cause  of  righteousness  he  takes  up  arms.  The 
divine  description  proceeds :  "  His  eyes  were  as  a  flame 
of  fire;  and  on  his  head  were  many  crowns,"  emblems  of 
his  manifold  authority  over  the  various  kingdoms  of  the 
world,  and  the  various  regions  of  the  universe.  "  And  he 
was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood,"  in  the  blood  of 
his  enemies ;  "  and  his  name  was  called,  The  -Word  of 
God;  and  the  armies  which  were  in  heaven  followed  him 
upon  white  horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean :" 
the  whitest  innocence  and  purity,  and  the  beauties  of  holi- 
ness are,  as  it  were,  the  uniform,  the  regimentals  of  these 
celestial  armies.  "  And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp 
sword,  that  with  it  he  should  smite  the  nations ;  and  he 
shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron ;  and  he  treadeth  the 
wine-press  of  the  fierceness  and  wrath  of  Almighty  God ; 
and  he  hath  on  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh  a  name  written, 
KING  OF  KINGS,  AND  LORD  OF  LORDS."  In  what  manner 
the  war  is  carried  on  between  the  armies  of  heaven  and 
the  powers  of  hell,  we  know  not :  but  that  there  is  really 
something  of  this  kind  we  may  infer  from  Rev.  xii.  7,  9. 
"  There  was  war  in  heaven ;  Michael  and  his  angels 
fought  against  the  dragon;  and  the  dragon  fought  and 
his  angels,  and  prevailed  not,  neither  was  their  place 
found  any  more  in  heaven.  And  the  great  dragon  was 
cast  out,  that  old  serpent,  called  the  Devil  and  Satan." 

Thus  you  see  all  the  hosts  of  heaven  are  volunteers 
under  the  Captain  of  our  salvation.  Nay,  he  marshals 
the  stars,  and  calls  them  by  their  names.  The  stars  in 
their  courses,  says  the  sublime  Deborah,  fought  against 
Sisera,  the  enemy  of  God's  people.  Judges  v.  20.  Every 
part  of  the  creation  serves  under  him,  and  he  can  com- 
mission a  gnat,  or  a  fly,  or  the  meanest  insect,  to  be 
the  executioner  of  his  enemies.  Fire  and  water,  hurri- 


GLORIES    OF    JESUS    CHRIST.  N      303 

canes  and  earthquakes;  earthquakes,  which  have  so  lately 
shattered  so  great  a  part  of  our  globe,  now  tottering  with 
age,  and  ready  to  fall  to  pieces,  and  bury  the  inhabitants 
in  its  ruins;  all  these  fight  under  him,  and  conspire  to 
avenge  his  quarrel  with  the  guilty  sons  of  men.  The  sub- 
jects of  his  grace  in  particular  are  all  so  many  soldiers; 
their  life  is  a  constant  warfare ;  and  they  are  incessantly 
engaged  in  hard  conflict  with  temptations  from  without, 
and  the  insurrection  of  sin  from  within.  Sometimes,  alas ! 
they  fall ;  but  their  General  lifts  them  up  again,  and  inspires 
them  with  strength  to  renew  the  fight.  They  fight  most 
successfully  upon  their  knees.  This  is  the  most  advanta- 
geous posture  for  the  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ ;  for  prayer 
brings  down  recruits  from  heaven  in  the  hour  of  difficulty. 
They  are  indeed  but  poor  weaklings  and  invalids;  and  yet 
they  overcome,  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb;  and  he 
makes  them  conquerors,  yea  more  than  conquerors.  It  is 
the  military  character  of  Christians  that  gives  the  apostle 
occasion  to  address  them  in  the  military  style,  like  a  gene- 
ral at  the  head  of  his  army.  Eph.  vi.  10-18.  "Be  strong 
in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  his  might.  Put  on  the 
whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  stand  against 
the  wiles  of  the  devil.  Stand,  therefore,  having  your  loins 
girt  about  with  truth,  and  having  on  the  breastplate  of 
righteousness,  and  your  feet  shod  with  the  preparation  of 
the  gospel  of  peace ;  above  all,  taking  the  shield  of  faith, 
wherewith  ye  shall  be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of 
the  wicked.  And  take  the  helmet  of  salvation,  and  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God,  praying 
always  with  all  prayer  and  supplication."  The  ministers 
of  the  gospel  in  particular,  and  especially  the  apostles,  are 
soldiers,  or  officers,  in  this  spiritual  army.  Hence  St. 
Paul  speaks  of  his  office  in  the  military  style ;  /  have,  says 
he,  fought  a  good  fight.  2  Tim,  iv.  7.  We  war,  says  he, 


304  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    AND 

though  it  be  not  after  the  flesh.  The  humble  doctrines  of 
the  cross  are  our  weapons,  and  these  are  mighty  through 
God,  to  demolish  the  strongholds  of  the  prince  of  darkness, 
and  to  bring  every  thought  into  a  joyful  captivity  to  the 
obedience  of  faith.  2  Cor.  x.  3-5.  Fight  the  good  fight, 
says  he  to  Timothy.  1  Tim.  vi.  12.  And  again,  thou 
therefore  endure  hardness  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ. 
2  Tim,  ii.  3.  The  great  design  of  the  gospel  ministry  is 
to  rescue  enslaved  souls  from  the  tyranny  of  sin  and  Satan, 
and  to  recover  them  into  a  state  of  liberty  and  loyalty  to 
Jesus  Christ ;  or,  in  the  words  of  the  apostle,  "  to  turn 
them  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan 
unto  God."  Acts  xxvi.  18.  Mortals  indeed,  are  very  un- 
equal for  the  conflict ;  but  their  success  more  conspicu- 
ously shows  that  the  excellency  of  the  power  is  of  God ;" 
and  many  have  they  subdued,  through  his  strength,  to  the 
obedience  of  faith,  and  made  the  willing  captives  of  the 
cross  of  our  divine  Immanuel.  Other  kingdoms  are  often 
founded  in  blood,  and  many  lives  are  lost  on  both  sides  in 
acquiring  them.  The  kingdom  of  Christ,  too,  was  founded 
in  blood,  but  it  was  the  blood  of  his  own  heart;  life  was 
lost  in  the  conflict ;  but  it  was  his  own ;  his  own  life  lost, 
to  purchase  life  for  his  people.  Others  have  waded  to 
empire  through  the  blood  of  mankind,  and  even  of  their 
own  subjects,  but  Christ  shed  only  his  own  blood  to  spare 
that  of  his  soldiers.  The  general  devotes  his  life  as  a 
sacrifice  to  save  his  army.  The  Fabii  and  Decii  of  Rome, 
who  devoted  themselves  for  their  country,  were  but  faint 
shadows  of  this  divine  bravery.  Oh  !  the  generous  patri- 
otism, the  ardent  love  of  the  Captain  of  our  salvation ! 
How  amiable  does  his  character  appear,  in  contrast  with 
that  of  the  kings  of  the  earth !  They  often  sacrifice  the 
lives  of  their  subjects,  while  they  keep  themselves  out  of 
danger,  or  perhaps  are  rioting  at  ease  in  the  pleasures  and 


GLORIES    OF    JESUS    CHRIST.  305 

luxuries  of  a  court;  but  Jesus  engaged  in  the  conflict  with 
death  and  hell  alone.     He  stood  a  single  champion  in  a 
field  of  blood.     He  conquered  for  his  people  by  falling 
himself;  he  subdued  his  and  their  enemies  by  resigning 
himself  to  their  power.     Worthy  is  such  a  general  to  be 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  hosts  of  God,  and  to  lead  the 
armies  of  heaven  and  earth !     Indeed   much  blood   has 
been  shed  in  carrying  on  this  kingdom.     The  earth  has 
been  soaked  with  the  blood  of  the  saints;  and  millions 
have  resisted  even  unto  blood,  striving  against  sin,  and 
nobly  laid  down  their  lives  for  the  sake  of  Christ  and  a 
good  conscience.     Rome  has  been  remarkably  the  seat  of 
persecution;  both  formerly  under  the  heathen  emperors, 
and  in  later  times,  under  a  succession  of  Popes,  still  more 
bloody  and  tyrannical.     There  were   no   less   than   ten 
general  persecutions  under  the  heathen  Emperors,  through 
the  vast  Roman  empire,  in  a  little  more  than  two  hundred 
years,  which  followed  one  another  in  a  close  succession ; 
in  which  innumerable  multitudes  of  Christians  lost  their 
lives  by  an  endless  variety  of  tortures.     And  since  the 
church  of  Rome  has  usurped  her  authority,  the  blood  of 
the  saints  has  hardly  ever  ceased  running  in  some  country 
or  other;  though,  blessed  be  God,  many  kingdoms  shook 
off  the  yoke  at  the  ever-memorable  period  of  the  Refor- 
mation, above  two  hundred  years  ago :  which  has  greatly 
weakened  that  persecuting  power.     This  is  that  mystical 
Babylon  which  was  represented  to  St.  John  as  "drunken 
with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  with  the  blood  of  the  mar- 
tyrs of  Jesus."  Rev.  xvii.  6.     In  her  was  found  the  blood 
of  prophets,  and  of  saints,  and  of  all  that  were  slain  upon 
the  earth.  Chap,  xviii.  24.     And  these  scenes  of  blood  are 
still  perpetrated  in  France,  that  plague  of  Europe,  that  has 
of  late  stretched  her  murderous  arm  across  the  wide  ocean, 
to  disturb  us  in  these  regions  of  peace.     There  the  Pro- 

VOL.  I 39 


306  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    AND 

testants  are  still  plundered,  chained  to  the  galleys,  broken 
alive  on  the  torturing  wheel,  denied  the  poor  favour  of 
abandoning  their  country  and  their  all,  and  flying  naked 
to  beg  their  bread  in  other  nations.  Thus  the  harmless 
subjects  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  have  ever  been  slaughtered 
from  age  to  age,  and  yet  they  are  represented  as  triumph- 
ant conquerors.  Hear  a  poor  persecuted  Paul  on  this 
head :  "  In  tribulation,  in  distress,  in  persecution,  in  naked- 
ness, in  peril  and  sword,  we  are  conquerors,  we  are  more 
than  conquerors  through  him  that  loved  us."  Rom.  viii. 
36,  37.  "  Thanks  be  to  God,  which  always  causeth  us  to 
triumph  in  Christ."  2  Cor.  ii.  14.  "  Whatsoever  is  born 
of  God,"  says  the  evangelist,  "  overcometh  the  world." 

1  John  v.  4.     Whence  came  that  glorious  army  which  we 
so  often  see  in  the  Revelation  ?     We  are  told  "  they  came 
out  of  great  tribulation."  Chap.  vii.  14.     "  And  they  over- 
came by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  by  the  word  of  their 
testimony ;  and  they  loved  not  their  lives  unto  the  death." 
Chap.  xii.  11.      They  that  suffered   tortures   and   death 
under  the  beast,  are  said  to  have  gotten  the  victory  over 
him.  Chap,  xv.,  2.     Victory  and  triumph  sound  strange 
when  thus  ascribed; — but  the  gospel  helps  us  to  under- 
stand this  mystery.     By  these  sufferings  they  obtained  the 
illustrious  crown  of  martyrdom,  and  peculiar  degrees  of 
glory  and  happiness  through  an  endless  duration.     Their 
death  was  but  a  short  transition  from  the  lowest  and  more 
remote  regions  of  their  Redeemer's  Kingdom  into  his  im- 
mediate presence  and  glorious  court  in  heaven.     A  tem- 
poral death  is  rewarded  with  an  immortal  life  :  and  "  their 
light  afflictions  which  were  but  for  a  moment,  wrought  out 
for  them  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory." 

2  Cor.  iv.  17.     Even  in  the  agonies  of  torture,  their  souls 
were   often   filled  with  such  delightful   sensations  of  the 
love  of  God,  as  swallowed  up  the  sensations  of  bodily 


GLORIES    OF   JESUS    CHRIST.  307 

pain ;  and  a  bed  of  flames  was  sweeter  to  them  than  a  bed 
of  roses.  Their  souls  were  beyond  the  reach  of  all  the 
instruments  of  torment;  and  as  to  their  bodies,  they  shall 
yet  have  a  glorious  resurrection  to  a  blessed  immortality. 
And  now,  I  leave  you  to  judge,  whether  they  or  their  ene- 
mies got  the  victory  in  this  conflict;  and  which  had  most 
cause  to  triumph.  Like  their  Master,  they  rose  by  fall- 
ing ;  they  triumphed  over  their  enemies  by  submitting,  like 
lambs,  to  their  power.  If  the  soldiers  of  other  generals 
die  in  the  field,  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  their  commanders 
to  reward  them.  But  the  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ,  by 
dying,  are,  as  it  were,  carried  in  triumph  from  the  field  of 
blood  into  the  presence  of  the  Master,  to  receive  his  ap- 
probation, and  a  glorious  crown.  Death  puts  them  into  a 
capacity  of  receiving  and  enjoying  greater  rewards  than 
they  are  capable  of  in  the  present  state.  And  thus  it 
appears,  that  his  soldiers  always  win  the  day;  or,  as  the 
apostle  expresses  it,  he  causes  them  always  to  triumph; 
and  not  one  of  them  has  ever  been  or  ever  shall  be 
defeated,  however  weak  and  helpless  in  himself,  and  how- 
ever terrible  the  power  of  his  enemies.  And  oh !  when 
all  these  warriors  meet  at  length  from  every  corner  of  the 
earth,  and,  as  it  were,  pass  in  review  before  their  General 
in  the  fields  of  heaven,  with  their  robes  washed  in  his 
blood,  with  palms  of  victory  in  their  hands,  and  crowns  of 
glory  on  their  heads,  all  dressed  in  uniform  with  garments 
of  salvation,  what  a  glorious  army  will  they  make !  and 
how  will  they  cause  heaven  to  ring  with  shouts  of  joy  and 
triumph ! 

The  founders  of  earthly  kingdoms  are  famous  for  their 
heroic  actions.  They  have  braved  the  dangers  of  sea  and 
land,  routed  powerful  armies,  and  subjected  nations  to  their 
will.  They  have  shed  rivers  of  blood,  laid  cities  in  ruins, 
and  countries  in  desolation.  These  are  the  exploits  which 


308  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM   AND 

have  rendered  the  Alexanders,  the  Csesars,  and  other  con- 
querors of  this  world,  famous  through  all  nations  and  ages. 
Jesus  had  his  exploits  too;  but  they  were  all  of  the  gra- 
cious and  beneficent  kind.  His  conquests  were  so  many 
deliverances,  and  his  victories  salvations.  He  subdued  in 
order  to  set  free ;  and  made  captives  to  deliver  them  from 
slavery.  He  conquered  the  legions  of  hell,  that  seemed 
let  loose  at  that  time,  that  he  might  have  opportunity  of 
displaying  his  power  over  them,  and  that  mankind  might 
be  sensible  how  much  they  needed  a  deliverer  from  their 
tyranny.  He  triumphed  over  the  temptations  of  Satan  in 
the  wilderness,  by  a  quotation  from  his  own  word.  He 
rescued  wretched  creatures  from  his  power  by  an  almighty 
command.  He  conquered  the  most  inveterate  and  stub- 
born diseases,  and  restored  health  and  vigour  with  a  word 
of  his  mouth.  He  vanquished  stubborn  souls  with  the 
power  of  his  love,  and  made  them  his  willing  people.  He 
triumphed  over  death,  the  king  of  terrors,  and  delivered 
Lazarus  from  the  prison  of  the  grave,  as  an  earnest  and 
first-fruit  of  a  general  resurrection.  Nay,  by  his  own  in- 
herent powers  he  broke  the  bonds  of  death,  and  forced  his 
way  to  his  native  heaven.  He  destroyed  him  that  had  the 
power  of  death,  i.  e.,  the  devil,  by  his  own  death,  and  laid 
the  foundation  in  his  own  blood  for  destroying  his  usurped 
kingdom,  and  forming  a  glorious  kingdom  of  willing  sub- 
jects redeemed  from  his  tyranny. 

The  death  of  some  great  conquerors,  particularly  Ju- 
lius Caesar,  is  said  to  have  been  prognosticated  or  attended 
with  prodigies :  but  none  equal  to  those  which  solemnized 
the  death  of  Jesus.  The  earth  trembled,  the  rocks  were 
burst  to  pieces,  the  vail  of  the  temple  was  rent,  the  hea- 
vens were  clothed  in  mourning,  and  the  dead  started  into 
life :  and  no  wonder,  when  the  Lord  of  nature  was  expir- 
ing upon  a  cross.  He  subdued  and  calmed  the  stormy 


GLORIES    OF    JESUS    CHRIST.  309 

wind,  and  the  boisterous  waves  of  the  sea.  In  short,  he 
showed  an  absolute  sovereignty  over  universal  nature,  and 
managed  the  most  unruly  elements  with  a  single  word. 
Other  conquerors  have  gone  from  country  to  country,  car- 
rying desolation  along  with  them ;  Jesus  went  about  doing 
good.  His  miraculous  powers  were  but  powers  of  mira- 
culous mercy  and  beneficence.  He  could  easily  have  ad- 
vanced himself  to  a  temporal  kingdom,  and  routed  all  the 
forces  of  the  earth;  but  he  had  no  ambition  of  this  kind. 
He  that  raised  Lazarus  from  the  grave  could  easily  restore 
his  soldiers  to  vigour  and  life,  after  they  had  been  wounded 
or  killed.  He  that  fed  five  thousand  with  five  loaves  and 
two  fishes,  could  have  supported  his  army  with  plenty  of 
provision  in  the  greatest  scarcity.  He  that  walked  upon  the 
boisterous  ocean  and  enabled  Peter  to  do  the  same,  could 
easily  have  transported  his  forces  from  country  to  country, 
without  the  conveyance  of  ships.  Nay,  he  was  capable  by 
his  own  single  power  to  have  gained  universal  conquest. 
What  could  all  the  armies  of  the  earth  have  done  against 
Him,  who  struck  an  armed  company  down  to  the  earth 
with  only  a  word  of  his  mouth?  But  these  were  not  the 
victories  he  affected ;  Victories  of  grace,  deliverances  for 
the  oppressed,  salvation  for  the  lost ;  these  were  his  heroic 
actions.  He  glories  in  his  being  mighty  to  save.  Isa. 
Ixiii.  1.  When  his  warm  disciples  made  a  motion  that  he 
should  employ  his  miraculous  powers  to  punish  the  Sama- 
ritans who  ungratefully  refused  him  entertainment,  he  re- 
buked them,  and  answered  like  the  Prince  of  Peace,  The 
son  of  Man  is  not  come  to  destroy  men's  fives,  but  to  save. 
Luke  ix.  56.  He  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was 
lost.  Luke  xix.  10.  Oh  how  amiable  a  character  this ! 
How  much  more  lovely  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  the  De- 
liverer of  souls,  than  the  enslavers  and  destroyers  of  man- 
kind ;  which  is  the  general  character  of  the  renowned  he- 


310  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    AND 

roes  of  our  world.  Who  has  ever  performed  such  truly 
heroic  and  brave  actions  as  this  almighty  conqueror !  He 
has  pardoned  the  most  aggravated  crimes,  in  a  consistency 
with  the  honours  of  the  divine  government :  he  has  de- 
livered an  innumerable  multitude  of  immortal  souls  from 
the  tyranny  of  sin  and  the  powers  of  hell,  set  the  prisoners 
free,  and  brought  them  into  the  liberty  of  the  Son  of  God ; 
he  has  peopled  heaven  with  redeemed  slaves,  and  advanced 
them  to  royal  dignity.  "  All  his  subjects  are  kings." 
Rev.  i.  6.  "  To  him  that  overcometh,"  says  he,  "  will  I 
grant  to  set  with  me  in  my  throne,  even  as  I  also  overcame, 
and  am  sit  down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne,"  Rev.  iii. 
21.  They  shall  be  adorned  with  royal  robes  and  crowns 
of  unfading  glory.  They  are  advanced  to  empire  over 
their  lusts  and  passions,  and  all  their  enemies.  Who  ever 
gave  such  encouragement  to  his  soldiers  as  this,  If  we 
suffer  with  him,  we  shall  also  reign  with  him  ?  2  Tim.  ii. 
12.  What  mortal  general  could  bestow  immortality  and 
perfect  happiness  upon  his  favourites?  But  these  bound- 
less blessings  Jesus  has  to  bestow.  In  human  govern- 
ments merit  is  often  neglected,  and  those  who  serve  their 
country  best,  are  often  rewarded  with  degradation.  But 
none  have  ever  served  the  King  of  kings  in  vain.  The 
least  good  action,  even  the  giving  a  cup  of  water  to  one 
of  his  necessitous  saints,  shall  not  pass  unrewarded  in  his 
government. 

Other  kings  have  their  arms,  their  swords,  their  cannon, 
and  other  instruments  of  destruction ;  and  with  these  they 
acquire  and  defend  their  dominions.  Jesus,  our  king,  has 
his  arms  too ;  but  oh !  of  how  different  a  kind  !  The 
force  of  evidence  and  conviction  in  his  doctrine,  attested 
with  miracles,  the  energy  of  his  dying  love,  the  gentle,  and 
yet  efficacious  influence  of  his  holy  Spirit ;  these  are  the 
weapons  with  which  he  conquered  the  world.  His  gospel 


GLORIES    OF    JESUS    CHRIST.  311 

is  the  great  magazine  from  whence  his  apostles,  the  first 
founders  of  his  kingdom,  drew  their  arms ;  and  with  these 
they  subdued  the  nations  to  the  obedience  of  faith.  "  The 
gospel,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salva- 
tion." Rom.  i.  16.  The  humble  doctrines  of  the  cross  be- 
came almighty  and,  bore  down  all  before  them,  and  after 

O        v   ' 

a  time  subdued  the  vast  Roman  empire  which  had  subdued 
the  world.  The  holy  Spirit  gave  edge  and  force  to  these 
weapons ;  and,  blessed  be  God,  though  they  are  quite  im- 
potent without  his  assistance,  yet  when  he  concurs  they 
are  still  successful.  Many  stubborn  sinners  have  been  un- 
able to  resist  the  preaching  of  Christ  crucified :  they  have 
found  him  indeed  the  power  of  God.  And  is  it  not  as- 
tonishing, that  any  one  should  be  able  to  stand  it  out 
against  his  dying  love,  and  continue  the  enemy  of  his 
cross  ?  "  I,"  says  he,  "  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth," 
i.  e.,  if  I  be  suspended  on  the  cross,  "  will  draw  all  men 
unto  me."  John  xii.  32.  You  see  he  expected  his  cross 
would  be  an  irresistible  weapon.  And  oh !  blessed  Jesus, 
who  can  see  thee  expiring  there  in  agonies  of  torture  and 
love;  who  can  see  thy  blood  gushing  in  streams  from 
every  vein ;  who  can  hear  thee  there,  and  not  melt  into 
submission  at  thy  feet !  Is  there  one  heart  in  this  assem- 
bly proof  against  the  energy  of  this  bleeding,  agonizing, 
dying  love  1  Methinks  such  a  sight  must  kindle  a  cor- 
respondent affection  in  your  hearts  towards  him,  and  it  is 
an  exploit  of  wickedness,  it  is  the  last  desperate  effort  of 
an  impenetrable  heart,  to  be  able  to  resist. 

Other  conquerors  march  at  the  head  of  their  troops, 
with  all  the  ensigns  of  power  and  grandeur,  and  their 
forces  numerous,  inured  to  war,  and  well  armed ;  and  from 
such  appearances  and  preparations,  who  is  there  but  what 
expects  victory?  But  see  the  despised  Nazarene,  without 
riches,  without  arms,  without  forces,  conflicting  with  the 


312  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM   AND 

united  powers  of  earth  and  hell ;  or  see  a  company  of  poor 
fishermen  and  a  tent-maker,  with  no  other  powers  but 
those  of  doing  good,  with  no  other  arms  but  those  of  rea- 
son, and  the  strange,  unpopular  doctrines  of  a  crucified 
Christ !  see  the  professed  followers  of  a  Master  that  was 
hung  like  a  malefactor  and  a  slave,  see  these  men  march- 
ing out  to  encounter  the  powers  of  darkness,  the  whole 
strength  of  the  Roman  empire,  the  lusts,  prejudices,  and 
interests  of  all  nations,  and  travelling  from  country  to  coun- 
try, without  guards,  without  friends,  exposed  to  insult  and 
contempt,  to  the  rage  of  persecution,  to  all  manner  of 
torture  and  tormented  deaths  which  earth  or  hell  could 
invent :  see  this  little  army  marching  into  the  wide  world, 
in  these  circumstances,  and  can  you  expect  they  will 
have  any  success?  Does  this  appear  a  promising  expe- 
dition 1  No :  human  reason  would  forebode  they  will 
soon  be  cut  in  pieces,  and  the  Christian  cause  buried  with 
them.  But  these  unpromising  champions,  with  the  aid  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  conquered  the  world,  and  spread  the  reli- 
gion of  the  crucified  Jesus  among  all  nations.  It  is  true 
they  lost  their  lives  in  the  cause,  like  brave  soldiers ;  but 
the  cause  did  not  die  with  them.  Their  blood  proved 
the  seed  of  the  church.  Their  cause  is  immortal  and  in- 
vincible. Let  devils  in  hell,  let  Heathens,  Jews,  and  Ma- 
hometans, let  Atheists,  Freethinkers,  Papists,  and  persecu- 
tors of  every  character  do  their  worst ;  still  this  cause  will 
live  in  spite  of  them.  All  the  enemies  of  Christ  will  be 
obliged  to  confess  at  last,  with  Julian  the  apostate  Roman 
emperor,  who  exerted  all  his  art  to  abolish  Christianity ; 
but  when  mortally  wounded  in  battle,  outrageously  sprin- 
kled his  blood  towards  heaven,  and  cried  out,  Vicisti,  0 
Galil&e  !  "  Thou  hast  conquered,  O  Galilean  !"  Yes, 
my  brethren,  Jesus,  the  Prophet  of  Galilee,  will  push  his 
conquest  from  country  to  country,  until  all  nations  submit 


GLORIES    OF   JESUS    CHRIST.  313 

to  him.  And,  blessed  be  his  name,  his  victorious  arm  has 
reached  to  us  in  these  ends  of  the  earth :  here  he  has  sub- 
dued some  obstinate  rebels,  and  made  their  reluctant  souls 
willingly  bow  in  affectionate  homage  to  him.  And  may  I 
not  produce  some  of  you  as  the  trophies  of  his  victory? 
Has  he  not  rooted  out  the  enmity  of  your  carnal  minds, 
and  sweetly  constrained  you  to  the  most  affectionate  obe- 
dience ?  Thus,  blessed  Jesus  !  thus  go  on  conquering  and 
to  conquer.  Gird  thy  sword  upon  thy  thigh,  0  most 
mighty  !  and  in  thy  glory  and  majesty  ride  prosperously 
through  our  land,  and  make  this  country  a  dutiful  province 
of  the  dominion  of  thy  grace.  My  brethren,  should  we 
all  become  his  willing  subjects,  he  would  no  longer  suffer 
the  perfidious  slaves  of  France,  and  their  savage  allies,  to 
chastise  and  punish  us  for  our  rebellion  against  him ;  but 
peace  should  again  run  down  like  a  river,  and  righteous- 
ness like  a  mighty  stream. 

The  kingdoms  of  the  world  have  their  rise,  their  pro- 
gress, perfection,  declension,  and  ruin.  And  in  these 
things,  the  kingdom  of  Christ  bears  some  resemblance  to 
them,  excepting  that  it  shall  never  have  an  end. 

Its  rise  was  small  at  first,  and  it  has  passed  through 
many  revolutions  in  various  ages.  It  was  first  founded  in 
the  family  of  Adam,  but  in  about  1,600  years,  the  space 
between  the  creation  and  the  flood,  it  was  almost  demol- 
ished by  the  wickedness  of  the  world ;  and  at  length  con- 
fined to  the  little  family  of  Noah.  After  the  flood,  the 
world  soon  fell  into  idolatry,  but,  that  this  kingdom  of 
Christ  might  not  be  destroyed  quite,  it  was  erected  in  the 
family  of  Abraham ;  and  among  the  Jews  it  continued 
until  the  coming  of  Christ  in  the  flesh.  This  was  indeed 
but  the  infancy  of  his  kingdom,  and  indeed  is  seldom 
called  by  that  name.  It  is  the  gospel  constitution  that  is 
represented  as  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  in  a  special  sense. 

VOL.  I.— 40 


314  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    AND 

This  was  but  very  small  and  unpromising  at  first.  When 
its  founder  was  dying  upon  Calvary,  and  all  his  followers 
had  forsaken  him  and  fled,  who  would  have  thought  it 
would  ever  have  come  to  any  thing,  ever  have  recovered  ? 
But  it  revived  with  him ;  and  when  he  furnished  his  apos- 
tles with  gifts  and  graces  for  their  mission,  and  sent  them 
forth  to  increase  his  kingdom,  it  made  its  progress  through 
the  world  with  amazing  rapidity,  notwithstanding  it  met 
with  very  early  and  powerful  opposition.  The  Jews  set 
themselves  against  it,  and  raised  persecutions  against  its 
ministers,  wherever  they  went.  And  presently  the  tyrant 
Nero  employed  all  the  power  of  the  Roman  empire  to 
crush  them.  Peter,  Paul,  and  thousands  of  the  Christians 
fell  a  prey  to  his  rage,  like  sheep  for  the  slaughter.  This 
persecution  was  continued  under  his  successors  with  but 
little  interruption,  for  about  two  hundred  years. 

But  under  all  these  pressures,  the  church  bore  up  her 
head;  yea,  the  more  she  was  trodden,  the  more  she 
spread  and  flourished ;  and  at  length  she  was  delivered 
from  oppression  by  Constantine  the  Great,  about  the  year 
420.  But  now  she  had  a  more  dangerous  enemy  to  en- 
counter, I  mean  prosperity;  and  this  did  her  much  more 
injury  than  all  the  persecutions  of  her  enemies.  Now  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  began  to  be  corrupted  with  heresies ; 
the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  formerly  the  most  dangerous 
post  in  the  world,  now  became  a  place  of  honour  and 
profit,  and  men  began  to  thrust  themselves  into  it  from 
principles  of  avarice  and  ambition  ;  superstition  and  cor- 
ruption of  morals  increased ;  and  at  length  the  Bishop  of 
Rome  set  up  for  universal  head  of  the  church  in  the  year 
606  ;  and  gradually  the  whole  monstrous  system  of  popery 
was  formed  and  established,  and  continued  in  force  for 
near  a  thousand  years.  The  kingdom  of  Christ  was  now 
at  a  low  ebb ;  and  tyranny  and  superstition  reigned  under 


GLORIES    OF   JESUS   CHRIST.  315 

that  name  over  the  greatest  part  of  the  Christian  world. 
Nevertheless,  our  Lord  still  had  his  witnesses.  The  Wal- 
denses  and  Albigenses,  John  Huss,  and  Jerome  of  Prague, 
and  Wickliffe  in  England,  opposed  the  torrent  of  corrup- 
tion; until  at  length,  Luther,  Calvin,  Zuinglius,  and 
several  others,  were  made  the  honoured  instruments 
of  introducing  the  Reformation  from  popery;  when  sun- 
dry whole  kingdoms,  which  had  given  their  power  to 
the  beast,  and  particularly  our  mother-country,  shook  off 
the  papal  authority,  and  admitted  the  pure  light  of  the  gos- 
pel. Since  that  time  the  kingdom  of  Christ  has  struggled 
hard,  and  it  has  lost  ground  in  several  countries ;  particu- 
larly in  France,  Poland,  Bohemia,  &c.,  where  there  once 
were  many  Protestant  churches;  but  they  are  now  in 
ruins.  And,  alas !  those  countries  that  still  retain  the  re- 
formed religion,  have  too  generally  reduced  it  into  a  mere 
formality :  and  it  has  but  little  influence  upon  the  hearts 
and  lives  even  of  its  professors.  Thus  we  find  the  case 
remarkable  among  us.  This  gracious  kingdom  makes  but 
little  way  in  Virginia.  The  calamities  of  war  and  famine 
cannot,  alas!  draw  subjects  to  it;  but  we  seem  generally 
determined  to  perish  in  our  rebellion  rather  than  submit. 
Thus  it  has  been  in  this  country  from  its  first  settlement ; 
and  how  long  it  will  continue  in  this  situation  is  unknown 
to  mortals :  however,  this  we  may  know,  it  will  not  be 
so  always.  We  have  the  strongest  assurances  that  Jesus 
will  yet  take  to  him  his  strong  power,  and  reign  in  a  more 
extensive  and  illustrious  manner  than  he  has  ever  yet 
done;  and  that  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  shall  yet  be- 
come the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ. 
There  are  various  parts  of  the  heathen  world  where  the 
gospel  has  never  yet  been ;  and  the  Jews  have  never  yet 
been  converted  as  a  nation ;  but  both  the  calling  of  the 
Jews  and  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles,  you  will  find  plainly 


316  THE    MEDIATORIAL    KINGDOM    AND 

foretold  in  the  llth  chapter  of  the  Romans;  and  it  is,  no 
doubt,  to  render  the  accomplishment  of  this  event  the 
more  conspicuous,  that  the  Jews,  who  are  dispersed  all 
over  the  world,  have,  by  a  strange,  unprecedented,  and 
singular  providence,  been  kept  a  distinct  people  to  this 
day,  for  1,700  years;  though  all  other  nations  have  been 
so  mixed  and  blended  togther,  who  were  not  half  so  much 
dispersed  into  different  countries,  that  their  distinct  origi- 
nal cannot  be  traced.  Posterity  shall  see  this  glorious 
event  in  some  happy  future  period.  How  far  it  is  from 
us  I  will  not  determine  ;  though,  upon  some  grounds,  I  ap- 
prehend it  is  not  very  remote.  I  shall  live  and  die  in  the 
unshaken  belief  that  our  guilty  world  shall  yet  see  glori- 
ous days.  Yes,  my  brethren,  this  despised  gospel,  that 
has  so  little  effect  in  our  age  and  country,  shall  yet  shine 
like  lightning,  or  like  the  sun,  through  all  the  dark  regions 
of  the  earth.  It  shall  triumph  over  Heathenism,  Mahom- 
etanism,  Judaism,  Popery,  and  all  those  dangerous  errors 
that  have  infected  the  Christian  church.  This  gospel, 
poor  negroes,  shall  yet  reach  your  countrymen,  whom  you 
left  behind  you  in  Africa,  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of 
death,  and  bless  your  eyes  with  the  light  of  salvation :  and 
the  Indian  savages,  that  are  now  ravaging  our  country, 
shall  yet  be  transformed  into  lambs  and  doves  by  the  gos- 
pel of  peace.  The  scheme  of  Providence  is  not  yet  com- 
pleted, and  much  remains  to  be  accomplished  of  what  God 
has  spoken  by  his  prophets,  to  ripen  the  world  for  the  uni- 
versal judgment;  but  when  all  these  things  are  finished, 
then  proclamation  shall  be  made  throughout  all  nature, 
"  That  time  shall  be  no  more :"  then  the  Supreme  Judge, 
the  same  Jesus  that  ascended  the  cross,  will  ascend  the 
throne,  and  review  the  affairs  of  time  :  then  will  he  put  an 
end  to  the  present  course  of  nature,  and  the  present  form 
of  administration.  Then  shall  heaven  and  hell  be  filled 


GLORIES    GF    JESUS    CHRIST.  317 

with  their  respective  inhabitants :  then  will  time  close,  and 
eternity  run  on  in  one  uniform  tenor,  without  end.  But 
the  kingdom  of  Christ,  though  altered  in  its  situation  and 
form  of  government,  will  not  then  come  to  a  conclusion. 
His  kingdom  is  strictly  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  and  at  the 
end  of  this  world,  his  subjects  will  only  be  removed  from 
these  lower  regions  into  a  more  glorious  country,  where 
they  and  their  King  shall  live  together  for  ever  in  the  most 
endearing  intimacy ;  where  the  noise  and  commotions  of 
this  restless  world,  the  revolutions  and  perturbations  of 
kingdoms,  the  terrors  of  war  and  persecution,  shall  no 
more  reach  them ;  but  all  will  be  perfect  peace,  love,  and 
happiness,  through  immeasurable  duration.  This  is  the 
last  and  most  illustrious  state  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
now  so  small  and  weak  in  appearance :  this  is  the  final 
grand  result  of  his  administration :  and  it  will  appear  to 
admiring  worlds  wisely  planned,  gloriously  executed,  and 
perfectly  finished. 

What  conqueror  ever  erected  such  a  kingdom  ?  What 
subjects  so  completely,  so  lastingly  happy,  as  those  of  the 
blessed  Jesus  ? 


318  THINGS    UNSEEN    TO    BE 


SERMON  XL 

THINGS    UNSEEN    TO    BE    PREFERRED    TO    THINGS    SEEN. 

2  Cor.  iv.  18.— While  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are 
seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen;  for  the 
things  which  are  seen  are  temporal:  but  the  things  which 
are  not  seen  are  eternal. 

AMONG  all  the  causes  of  the  stupid  unconcernedness  of 
sinners  about  religion,  and  the  feeble  endeavours  of  saints 
to  improve  in  it,  there  is  none  more  common  or  more  ef- 
fectual, than  their  not  forming  a  due  estimate  of  the  things 
of  time,  in  comparison  of  those  of  eternity.  Our  present 
affairs  engross  all  our  thoughts,  and  exhaust  all  our  ac- 
tivity, though  they  are  but  transitory  trifles;  while  the 
awful  realities  of  the  future  world  are  hid  from  our  eyes 
by  the  veil  of  flesh  and  the  clouds  of  ignorance.  Did  these 
break  in  upon  our  minds  in  all  their  almighty  evidence 
and  tremendous  importance,  they  would  annihilate  the 
most  majestic  vanities  of  the  present  state,  obscure  the 
glare  of  earthly  glory,  render  all  its  pleasures  insipid,  and 
give  us  a  noble  sensibility  under  all  its  sorrows.  A 
realizing  view  of  these  would  shock  the  libertine  in  his 
thoughtless  career,  tear  off  the  hypocrite's  mask,  and  in- 
flame the  devotion  of  the  languishing  saints.  The  concern 
of  mankind  would  then  be  how  they  might  make  a  safe 
exit  out  of  this  world,  and  not  how  they  may  live  happy 
in  it.  Present  pleasure  and  pain  would  be  swallowed  up 
in  the  prospect  of  everlasting  happiness  or  misery  hereafter. 


PREFERRED    TO    THINGS    SEEN.  319 

Eternity,  awful  eternity,  would  then  be  our  serious  con- 
templation. The  pleasures  of  sin  would  strike  us  with 
horror,  if  they  issue  in  eternal  pain,  and  our  present  af- 
flictions, however  tedious  and  severe,  would  appear  but 
light  and  momentary,  if  they  work  out  for  us  a  far  more 
exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory. 

These  were  the  views  the  apostle  had  of  things,  and 
these  their  effects  upon  him.  He  informs  us  in  this 
chapter  of  his  unwearied  zeal  to  propagate  the  gospel 
amidst  all  the  hardships  and  dangers  that  attend  the  painful 
discharge  of  his  ministry.  Though  he  bore  about  in  his 
body  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  though  he  was  always 
delivered  unto  death  for  Jesus'  sake,  yet  he  fainted  not ; 
and  this  was  the  prospect  that  animated  him,  that  his  "  light 
affliction,  which  was  but  for  a  moment,  would  work  out 
for  him  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory." 
When  we  view  his  sufferings  absolutely,  without  any 
reference  to  eternity,  they  were  very  heavy  and  of  many 
years'  continuance;  and  when  he  represents  them  in  this 
view,  how  moving  is  the  relation !  see  2  Cor.  xi.  23—29. 
But  when  he  views  them  in  the  light  of  eternity,  and  com- 
pared with  their  glorious  issues,  they  sink  into  nothing; 
then  scourging,  stoning,  imprisonment,  and  all  the  various 
deaths  to  which  he  was  daily  exposed,  are  but  light,  trifling 
afflictions,  hardly  worth  naming;  then  a  series  of  unin- 
terrupted sufferings  for  many  years  are  but  afflictions  that 
endure  for  a  moment.  And  when  he  views  a  glorious 
futurity,  human  language  cannot  express  the  ideas  he  has 
of  the  happiness  reserved  for  him;  it  is  "a  far  more  ex- 
ceeding and  eternal  weight  of  glory;"  a  noble  sentiment! 
and  expressed  in  the  sublimest  manner  the  language  of 
mortals  can  admit  of. 

It  is  glory,  in  opposition  to  affliction;  a  weight  of  glory, 
in  opposition  to  light  affliction ;  a  massy,  oppressive  blessed- 


320  THINGS    UNSEEN    TO    BE 

ness,  which  it  requires  all  the  powers  of  the  soul,  in  their 
full  exertion,  to  support :  and  in  opposition  to  affliction  for 
a  moment,  it  is  eternal  glory :  to  finish  all,  it  is  a  far  more 
exceeding  glory.*  What  greater  idea  can  be  grasped  by 
the  human  mind,  or  expressed  in  the  feeble  language  of 
mortality !  Nothing  but  feeling  that  weight  of  glory  could 
enlarge  his  conception:  and  nothing  but  the  dialect  of 
heaven  could  better  express  it.  No  wonder  that,  with  this 
.  view  of  things,  "  he  should  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of 
the  present  life  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the 
glory  that  shall  be  revealed."  Rom.  viii.  18. 

The  apostle  observes,  that  he  formed  this  estimate  of 
things,  while  he  looked  not  at  the  "things  which  are  seen, 
but  at  those  which  are  not  seen."  By  the  things  that  are 
seen,  are  meant  the  present  life,  and  all  the  things  of  time ; 
all  the  pleasures  and  pains,  all  the  labours,  pursuits,  and 
amusements  of  the  present  state.  By  the  things  that  are 
not  seen,  are  intended  all  the  invisible  realities  of  the 
eternal  world;  all  the  beings,  the  enjoyments  and  suffer- 
ings that  lie  beyond  the  reach  of  human  sight;  as  the  great 
Father  of  spirits,  the  joys  of  paradise,  and  the  punishment 
of  hell.  We  look  on  these  invisible  things,  and  not  on 
those  that  are  seen.  This  seems  like  a  contradiction ;  but 
is  it  easily  solved  by  understanding  this  act,  described  by 
looking,  to  be  the  act  not  of  the  bodily  eye,  but  of  faith 
and  enlightened  reason.  Faith  is  defined  by  this  apostle 
to  be  "the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence 
of  things  not  seen."  Heb.  xi.  1.  And  it  is  the  apostle's 
chief  design  in  that  chapter,  to  give  instances  of  the  sur- 
prising efficacy  of  such  a  realizing  belief  of  eternal,  invisible 
things;  see  particularly  ver.  10,  13,  14,  16,  25,  26,  27. 

*  The  original  far  surpasses  the  best  translation.     The  adjective  absolute 

[TO  i\a(j>p6i>  rrjs  0Au//£<oj]  is  Very  Significant  ;    and  naff  •Inrepflo'Miv  e"{  urrtp/JoAiji/  is  in 
imitable  in  any  language. 


PREFERRED    TO    THINGS    SEEN.  321 

Hence  to  look  not  at  visible,  but  at  invisible  things,  signi- 
fies that  the  apostle  made  the  latter  the  chief  objects  of  his 
contemplations,  that  he  was  governed  in  the  whole  of  his 
conduct  by  the  impression  of  eternal  things,  and  not  by 
the  present;  that  he  formed  his  maxims  and  schemes  from 
a  comprehensive  survey  of  futurities,  and  not  from  a  partial 
view  of  things  present;  and,  in  short,  that  he  had  acted  as 
an  expectant  of  eternity,  and  not  as  an  everlasting  in- 
habitant of  this  wretched  world.  This  he  elsewhere  ex- 
presses in  equivalent  terms,  "  We  walk  by  faith,  and  not  by 
sight."  2  Cor.  v.  7. 

Further,  he  assigns  a  reason  why  he  had  a  greater  re- 
gard to  invisible  things  than  visible  in  the  regulating  of  his 
conduct;  "for  the  things  which  are  seen,  are  temporal, 
but  the  things  which  are  not  seen,"  says  he,  "  are  eternal." 
An  important  reason  indeed!  Eternity  annexed  to  a 
trifle  would  advance  it  into  infinite  importance,  but  when 
it  is  the  attribute  of  the  most  perfect  happiness,  or  of  the 
most  exquisite  misery,  then  it  transcends  all  comparison: 
then  all  temporal  happiness  and  misery,  however  great  and 
long-continued,  shrink  into  nothing,  are  drowned  and  lost, 
like  the  small  drop  of  a  bucket  in  the  boundless  ocean. 

My  present  design,  and  the  contents  of  the  text,  pre- 
scribe to  me  the  following  method : 

I.  I  shall  give  you  a  comparative  view  of  visible  and 
invisible  things,  that  you  may  see  the  trifling  nature  of 
the  one,  and  the  importance  of  the  other.     This  I  choose 
to   do    under  one   head,   because   by  placing    these    two 
classes  of  things  in  an  immediate  opposition,  we  may  the 
more  easily  compare  them,  and  see  their  infinite  disparity. 
And, 

II.  I  shall  show  you   the  great  and  happy  influence  a 
suitable  impression  of  the  superior  importance  of  invisible 
to  visible  things  would  have  upon  us. 

VOL.  I.— 41 


322  THINGS   UNSEEN    TO    BE 

J.  I  shall  give  you  a  comparative  view  of  visible  and 
invisible  things;  and  we  may  compare  visible  and  in- 
visible things,  as  to  their  intrinsic  value,  and  as  to  their  du- 
ration. 

1.  As  to  their  intrinsic  value,  and  in  this  respect  the 
disparity  is  inconceivable. 

This  I  shall  illustrate  in  the  two  comprehensive  in- 
stances of  pleasure  and  pain.  To  shun  the  one,  and  obtain 
the  other,  is  the  natural  effort  of  the  human  mind.  This 
is  its  aim  in  all  its  endeavours  and  pursuits.  The  innate 
desire  of  happiness  and  aversion  to  misery  are  the  two 
great  springs  of  all  human  activity:  and,  were  these 
springs  relaxed  or  broken,  all  business  would  cease,  all 
activity  would  stagnate,  and  universal  torpor  would  seize 
the  world.  And  these  principles  are  co-existent  with  the 
soul  itself,  and  will  continue  in  full  vigour  in  a  future  state. 
Nay,  as  the  soul  will  then  be  matured,  and  all  its  powers 
arrived  to  their  complete  perfection,  this  eagerness  after 
happiness,  and  aversion  to  misery,  will  be  also  more  quick 
and  vigorous.  The  soul  in  its  present  state  of  infancy, 
like  a  young  child,  or  a  man  enfeebled  and  stupified  by 
sickness,  is  incapable  of  very  deep  sensations  of  pleasure 
and  pain ;  and  hence  an  excess  of  joy,  as  well  as  sorrow, 
has  sometimes  dissolved  its  feeble  union  with  the  body. 
On  this  account  we  are  incapable  of  such  degrees  of  hap- 
piness or  misery  from  the  things  of  this  world  as  beings 
of  more  lively  sensations  might  receive  from  them ;  and 
much  more  are  we  incapable  of  the  happiness  or  misery 
of  the  future  world,  until  we  have  put  on  immortality. 
We  cannot  see  God  and  live.  Should  the  glory  of 
heaven  blaze  upon  us  in  all  its  insuperable  splendour,  it 
would  overwhelm  our  feeble  nature ;  we  could  not  support 
such  a  weight  of  glory.  And  one  twinge  of  the  agonies 
of  hell  would  dislodge  the  soul  from  its  earthly  mansion : 


PREFERRED    TO    THINGS    SEEN.  323 

one  pang  would  convulse  and  stupify  it,  were  not  its 
powers  strengthened  by  the  separation  from  the  body. 
But  in  the  future  world  all  the  powers  of  the  soul  will  be 
mature  and  strong,  and  the  body  will  be  clothed  with  im- 
mortality; the  union  between  them  after  the  resurrection 
will  be  inseparable,  and  able  to  support  the  most  oppres- 
sive weight  of  glory,  or  the  most  intolerable  load  of 
torment.  Hence  it  follows  that  pleasure  and  pain  include 
all  that  we  can  desire  or  fear  in  the  present  or  future 
world;  and  therefore  a  comparative  view  of  present  and 
future  pleasure  and  pain  is  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  form 
a  due  estimate  of  visible  and  invisible  things.  By  present 
pleasure  I  mean  all  the  happiness  we  can  receive  from 
present  things,  as  1'rom  riches,  honours,  sensual  gratifica- 
tions, learning,  and  intellectual  improvements,  and  all  the 
amusements  and  exercises  of  this  life.  And  by  future 
pleasure,  or  the  pleasure  which  results  from  invisible 
things,  I  mean  all  the  fruitions  and  enjoyments  in  which 
heavenly  happiness  consists.  By  present  pain,  I  intend 
all  the  uneasiness  which  we  can  receive  from  the  things 
of  the  present  life;  as  poverty,  losses,  disappointments, 
bereavements,  sickness,  and  bodily  pains.  And  by  future 
pain,  I  mean  all  the  punishments  of  hell;  as  banishment 
from  God,  and  a  privation  of  all  created  blessings,  the 
agonizing  reflections  of  a  guilty  conscience,  the  horrid 
company  and  exprobations  of  infernal  ghosts,  and  the 
torture  of  infernal  flames. 

Now  let  us  put  these  in  the  balance,  and  the  one  will 
sink  into  nothing,  and  the  other  rise  into  infinite  import- 
ance. 

Temporal  things  are  of  a  contracted  nature,  and  not 
adequate  to  the  capacities  of  the  human  soul ;  but  eternal 
things  are  great,  and  capable  of  communicating  all  the 
happiness  and  misery  which  it  can  receive.  The  soul  in 


324  THINGS    UNSEEN    TO    BE 

its  present  state  is  not  capable  of  such  degrees  of  happi- 
ness and  misery  as  it  will  be  in  the  future,  when  it  dwells 
among  invisible  realities.  All  that  pleasure  and  pain 
which  we  receive  from  things  that  are  seen,  are  intermin- 
gled with  some  ingredients  of  a  contrary  nature ;  but  those 
proceeding  from  things  that  are  not  seen,  are  pure  and  un- 
mingled. 

1.  Visible  things  are  not  equal  to  the  capacities  of  the 
human  soul.  This  little  spark  of  being,  the  soul,  which 
lies  obscured  in  this  prison  of  flesh,  gives  frequent  dis- 
coveries of  surprising  powers;  its  desires  in  particular, 
have  a  kind  of  infinity.  But  all  temporary  objects  are 
mean  and  contracted ;  they  cannot  afford  it  a  happiness 
equal  to  its  capacity,  nor  render  it  as  miserable  as  its 
capacity  of  suffering  will  bear.  Hence,  in  the  greatest 
affluence  of  temporal  enjoyments,  in  the  midst  of  honours, 
pleasures,  riches,  friends,  &c.,  it  still  feels  a  painful  void 
within,  and  finds  an  unknown  something  wanting  to  com- 
plete its  happiness.  Kings  have  been  unhappy  upon  their 
thrones,  and  all  their  grandeur  has  been  but  majestic 
misery.  So  Solomon  found  it,  who  had  opportunity  and 
curiosity  to  make  the  experiment;  and  this  is  his  verdict 
upon  all  earthly  enjoyments,  after  the  most  impartial  trial : 
"  Vanity  of  vanities,"  saith  the  Preacher,  "  vanity  of  vani- 
ties ;  all  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit."  On  the  other 
hand,  the  soul  may  possess  some  degree  of  happiness, 
under  all  the  miseries  it  is  capable  of  suffering  from  ex- 
ternal and  temporal  things.  Guilt  indeed  denies  it  this 
support ;  but  if  there  be  no  intestine  broils,  no  anguish  re- 
sulting from  its  own  reflections,  not  all  the  visible  things 
can  render  it  perfectly  miserable ;  its  capacity  of  suffering 
is  not  put  to  its  utmost  stretch.  This  has  been  attested 
by  the  experience  of  multitudes  who  have  suffered  for 
righteousness'  sake.  But  oh,  when  we  take  a  survey  of 


PREFERRED    TO   THINGS    SEEN.  3-25 

invisible  things,  we  find  them  all  great  and  majestic,  not 
only  equal  but  infinitely  superior  to  the  most  enlarged 
powers  of  the  human  and  even  of  the  angelic  nature.  In 
the  eternal  world  the  great  Invisible  dwells,  and  there  he 
acts  with  his  own  immediate  hand.  It  is  he  that  immedi- 
ately communicates  happiness  through  the  heavenly  re- 
gions; and  it  is  his  immediate  breath  that,  like  a  stream 
of  brimstone,  kindles  the  flames  of  hell;  whereas,  in  the 
present  world,  he  rarely  communicates  happiness,  and  in- 
flicts punishment,  but  by  the  instrumentality  of  creatures ; 
and  it  is  impossible  the  extremes  of  either  should  be  com- 
municated through  this  channel.  This  the  infinite  God 
alone  can  do,  and,  though  in  the  future  world  he  will  use 
his  creatures  to  heighten  the  happiness  or  misery  of  each 
other,  yet  he  will  have  a  more  immediate  agency  in  them 
himself.  He  will  communicate  happiness  immediately 
from  himself,  the  infinite  fountain  of  it,  into  the  vessels  of 
mercy;  and  he  will  immediately  show  his  wrath,  and  make 
his  power  known  upon  the  vessels  of  wrath.  I  may  add, 
that  those  creatures,  angels  and  devils,  which  will  be  the 
instruments  of  happiness  or  misery  to  the  human  soul  in 
the  invisible  world,  are  incomparably  more  powerful  than 
any  in  this,  and  consequently  capable  of  contributing  more 
to  our  pleasure  or  pain.  And  let  me  also  observe,  that 
all  the  objects  about  which  our  faculties  will  be  employed 
then,  will  be  great  and  majestic ;  whereas,  at  present,  we 
grovel  among  little  sordid  things.  The  objects  of  our 
contemplation  will  then  be  either  the  unveiled  glories  of 
the  divine  nature,  and  the  naked  wonders  of  creation,  pro- 
vidence, and  redemption ;  or  the  terrors  of  divine  justice, 
the  dreadful  nature  and  aggravations  of  our  sin,  the  hor- 
rors of  everlasting  punishment,  &c.  And  since  this  is  the 
case,  how  little  should  we  regard  the  things  that  are  seen, 
in  comparison  of  them  that  are  not  seen  ?  But  though 


326  THINGS    UNSEEN    TO    BE 

visible  things  were  adequate  to  our  present  capacities,  yet 
they  are  not  to  be  compared  with  the  things  that  are  not 
seen;  because, 

2.  The  soul  is  at  present  in  a  state  of  infancy,  and  in- 
capable of  such  degrees  of  pleasure  or  pain  as  it  can  bear 
in  the  future  world.     The  enjoyments  of  this  life  are  like 
the  playthings  of  children;  and  none  but  childish  souls 
would  trifle  with  them,  or  fret  and  vex  themselves  or  one 
another  about  them ;  but  the  invisible  realities  before  us 
are  manly  and  great,  and  such  as  an  adult  soul  ought  to 
concern  itself  with.     The  soul  in  another  world  can  no 
more  be  happy  or  miserable  from  such  toys,  than  men  can 
be  happy  or  wretched  in  the  possession  or  loss  of  the 
baubles  of  children ;  it  will  then  demand  great  things  to 
give  it  pleasure  or  pain.     The  apostle  illustrates  this  mat- 
ter in  this  manner:  1  Cor.  xiii.  9,  10,  11.     How  foolish 
is  it  then  to  be  chiefly  governed  by  these  puerilities,  while 
we  neglect  the  manly  concern  of  eternity,  that  can  make 
our  souls  perfectly  happy  or  miserable,  when  their  powers 
are  come  to  perfection ! 

3.  And  lastly,  All  the  happiness  and  misery  of  the  pre- 
sent state,  resulting  from  things  that  are  seen,  are  inter- 
mingled  with   contrary  ingredients.     We   are   never  so 
happy  in  this  world  as  to  have  no  uneasiness ;  in  the  great- 
est affluence  we  languish  for  want  of  some  absent  good, 
or  grieve  under  some  incumbent  evil.     On  the  other  hand, 
we  are  never  so  miserable  as  to  have  no  ingredient  of 
happiness.     When  we  labour  under  a  thousand  calamities, 
we  may  still  see  ourselves  surrounded  with,  perhaps,  an 
equal  number  of  blessings.     And  where  is  there  a  wretch 
so  miserable  as  to  endure  simple,  unmingled  misery,  with- 
out  one  comfortable    ingredient?     But  in    the    invisible 
world  there  is  an  eternal  separation  made  between  good 
and  evil,  pleasure  and   pain ;  and  they  shall  never  mingle 


PREFERRED    TO    THINGS    SEEN.  327 

more.  In  heaven,  the  rivers  of  pleasure  flow  untroubled 
with  a  drop  of  sorrow;  in  hell,  there  is  not  a  drop  of 
water  to  mitigate  the  fury  of  the  flame.  And  who  then 
would  not  prefer  the  things  that  are  not  seen  to  those  that 
are  seen?  Especially  if  we  consider, 

4.  The  infinite  disparity  between  them  as  to  duration. 
This  is  the  difference  particularly  intended  in  the  text ;  the 
things  that  are  seen  are  temporal ;  but  the  things  that  are 
not  seen  are  eternal. 

The  transitoriness  of  visible  things  implies,  both  that  the 
things  themselves  are  perishable,  and  they  may  soon  leave 
us ;  and  that  our  residence  among  them  is  temporary,  and 
we  must  soon  leave  them. 

And  the  eternity  of  invisible  things  implies  quite  the 
contrary,  that  the  things  themselves  are  of  endless  dura- 
tion ;  and  that  we  shall  always  exist  to  receive  happiness 
or  misery  from  them. 

Before  we  illustrate  these  instances  of  disparity,  let  us 
take  a  view  of  time  and  eternity  in  themselves,  and  as 
compared  to  one  another. 

Time  is  the  duration  of  creatures  in  the  present  state.  It 
commenced  at  the  creation,  and  near  six  thousand  years  of 
it  are  since  elapsed;  and  how  much  of  it  yet  remains  we 
know  not.  But  this  we  know,  that  the  duration  of  the 
world  itself  is  as  nothing  in  comparison  of  eternity.  But 
what  is  our  duration  compared  with  the  duration  even  of 
this  world?  It  is  but  a  span,  a  hair's-breadth ;  sixty, 
seventy,  or  eighty  years,  is  generally  the  highest  standard 
of  human  life,  and  it  is  by  far  the  smallest  number  of  man- 
kind that  arrives  to  these  periods.  The  most  of  them  die 
like  a  flower  blasted  in  the  morning,  or  at  noon ;  and  we 
have  more  reason  to  expect  it  will  be  our  fate  than  to 
hope  the  contrary.  Now  the  span  of  time  we  enjoy  in 
life  is  all  our  time ;  we  have  no  more  property  in  the  rest 


328  THINGS    UNSEEN    TO    BE 

of  it  than  in  the  years  before  the  flood.  All  beside  is 
eternity.  "  Eternity !"  We  are  alarmed  at  the  sound  ! 
Lost  in  the  prospect !  Eternity  with  respect  to  God,  is  a 
duration  without  beginning  as  well  as  without  end.  Eter- 
nity, as  it  is  the  attribute  of  human  nature,  is  a  duration 
that  had  a  beginning  but  shall  never  have  an  end.  This 
is  inalienably  entailed  upon  us  poor,  dying  worms :  and  let 
us  survey  our  inheritance.  Eternity !  it  is  a  duration  that 
excludes  all  number  and  computation ;  days,  and  months, 
and  years,  yea,  and  ages,  are  lost  in  it,  like  drops  in  the 
ocean.  Millions  of  millions  of  years,  as  many  years  as 
there  are  sands  on  the  sea-shore,  or  particles  of  dust  in 
the  globe  of  the  earth,  and  these  multiplied  to  the  highest 
reach  of  number,  all  these  are  nothing  to  eternity.  They 
do  not  bear  the  least  imaginable  proportion  to  it ;  for  these 
will  come  to  an  end,  as  certain  as  day ;  but  eternity  will 
never,  never  come  to  an  end.  It  is  a  line  without  end ; 
it  is  an  ocean  without  a  shore.  Alas !  what  shall  I 
say  of  it!  It  is  an  infinite,  unknown  something,  that 
neither  human  thought  can  grasp,  nor  human  language 
describe. 

Now  place  time  in  comparison  with  eternity,  and  what 
is  it?  It  shrinks  into  nothing,  and  less  than  nothing. 
What  then  is  that  little  span  of  time  in  which  we  have 
any  property  1  Alas !  it  is  too  diminutive  a  point  to  be 
conceived.  Indeed,  properly  speaking,  we  can  call  no 
part  of  time  our  own  but  the  present  moment,  this  fleeting 
now:  future  time  is  uncertain,  and  we  may  never  enjoy  it; 
the  breath  we  now  respire  may  be  our  last ;  and  as  to  our 
past  time,  it  is  gone,  and  will  never  be  ours  again.  Our 
past  days  are  dead  and  buried,  though  perhaps  guilt,  their 
ghost,  may  haunt  us  still.  And  what  is  a  moment  to  eter- 
nity ?  The  disparity  is  too  great  to  admit  of  comparison. 

Let  me  now  resume   the  former   particulars,    implied 


PREFERRED    TO    THINGS    SEEN.  329 

in  the  transitoriness  of  visible  and  the  eternity  of  invisible 
tilings. 

Visible  things  are  perishable  and  may  soon  leave  us. 
When  we  think  they  are  ours,  they  often  fly  from  our 
embrace.  Riches  may  vanish  into  smoke  and  ashes  by 
an  accidental  fire.  We  may  be  thrown  down  from  the 
pinnacle  of  honour,  and  sink  the  lower  into  disgrace. 
Sensual  pleasures  often  end  in  satiety  and  disgust,  or  in 
sickness  and  death.  Our  friends  are  torn  from  our  bleed- 
ing hearts  by  the  inexorable  hand  of  death.  Our  liberty 
and  property  may  be  wrested  from  us  by  the  hand  of 
tyranny,  oppression,  or  fraud.  In  a  word,  what  do  we 
enjoy  but  we  may  lose  ?  On  the  other  hand,  our  miseries 
here  are  temporary;  the  heart  receives  many  a  wound, 
but  it  heals  again.  Poverty  may  end  in  riches ;  a  clouded 
character  may  clear  up,  and  from  disgrace  we  may  rise  to 
honour ;  we  may  recover  from  sickness ;  and  if  we  lose  one 
comfort,  we  may  obtain  another.  But  in  eternity  every 
thing  is  everlasting  and  unchangeable.  Happiness  and 
misery  are  both  of  them  without  end ;  and  the  subjects  of 
both  well  know  that  this  is  the  case.  It  is  this  perpetuity 
that  finishes  the  happiness  of  the  inhabitants  of  heaven ; 
the  least  suspicion  of  an  end  would  intermingle  itself  with 
all  their  enjoyments,  and  embitter  them :  and  the  greater 
the  happiness,  the  greater  the  anxiety  at  the  expectation 
of  losing  it.  But  oh,  how  transporting  for  the  saints  on 
high  to  look  forward  through  the  succession  of  eternal 
ages,  with  an  assurance  that  they  shall  be  happy  through 
them  all,  and  that  they  shall  feel  no  change  but  from  glory  to 
glory !  On  the  other  hand,  this  is  the  bitterest  ingredient 
in  the  cup  of  divine  displeasure  in  the  future  state,  that  the 
misery  is  eternal.  Oh,  with  what  horror  does  that  des- 
pairing cry,  For  ever,  for  ever,  for  ever !  echo  through  the 
vaults  of  hell  1  Eternity  is  such  an  important  attribute,  that 

VOL.  I.— 42. 


330  THINGS    UNSEEN    TO   BE 

it  gives  infinite  weight  to  things  that  would  be  insignificant, 
were  they  temporary.  A  small  degree  of  happiness,  if  it 
be  eternal,  exceeds  the  greatest  degree  that  is  transitory ; 
and  a  small  degree  of  misery  that  is  everlasting,  is  of 
greater  importance  than  the  greatest  degree  that  soon 
comes  to  an  end.  Would  you  rather  endure  the  most 
painful  tortures  that  nature  can  bear  for  a  moment,  than 
an  eternal  toothache  or  headache  ?  Again,  should  we  con- 
sider all  the  ingredients  and  causes  of  future  happiness  and 
misery,  we  should  find  them  all  everlasting.  The  blessed 
God  is  an  inexhaustible,  perennial  fountain  of  bliss;  his 
image  can  never  be  erased  from  the  hearts  of  glorified 
spirits;  the  great  contemplation  will  always  be  obvious 
to  them ;  and  they  will  always  exist  as  the  partakers  and 
promoters  of  mutual  bliss.  On  the  other  hand,  in  hell  the 
worm  of  conscience  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched ; 
divine  justice  is  immortal;  malignant  spirits  will  always 
exist  as  mutual  tormentors,  and  their  wicked  habits  will 
never  be  extirpated. 

And  now,  need  I  offer  any  thing  farther  to  convince 
you  of  the  superior  importance  of  invisible  and  eternal  to 
visible  and  temporary  things  ?  Can  a  rational  creature  be 
at  a  loss  to  choose  in  so  plain  a  case  ?  Can  you  need  any 
arguments  to  convince  you  that  an  eternity  of  the  most 
perfect  happiness  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  a  few  years 
of  sordid,  unsatisfying  delight  ?  Or  that  the  former  should 
not  be  forfeited  for  the  sake  of  the  latter  ?  Have  you  any 
remaining  scruples,  whether  the  little  anxieties  and  morti- 
fications of  a  pious  life  are  more  intolerable  than  everlast- 
ing punishment  1  Oh !  it  is  a  plain  case :  what  then  mean 
an  infatuated  world,  who  lay  out  all  their  concern  on  tem- 
poral things,  and  neglect  the  important  affairs  of  eternity  ? 
Let  us  illustrate  this  matter  by  supposition.  Suppose  a 
bird  were  to  pick  up  and  carry  away  a  grain  of  sand  or 


PREFERRED    TO    THINGS    SEEN.  331 

dust  from  the  globe  of  this  earth  once  in  a  thousand  years, 
till  it  should  be  at  length  wholly  carried  away ;  the  dura- 
tion which  this  would  take  up  appears  a  kind  of  eternity 
to  us.  Now  suppose  it  were  put  to  our  choice,  either  to 
be  happy  during  this  time,  and  miserable  ever  after,  or  to 
be  miserable  during  this  time,  and  happy  ever  after,  which 
would  you  choose  ?  Why,  though  this  duration  seems 
endless,  yet  he  would  be  a  fool  that  would  not  make  the 
latter  choice ;  for,  oh,  oh !  behind  this  vast  duration,  there 
lies  an  eternity,  which  exceeds  it  infinitely  more  than  this 
duration  exceeds  a  moment.  But  we  have  no  such  seem- 
ingly puzzling  choice  as  this ;  the  matter  with  us  stands 
thus — Will  you  choose  the  little  sordid  pleasures  of  sin 
that  may  perhaps  not  last  an  hour,  at  most,  not  many 
years,  rather  than  everlasting  pleasure  of  the  sublimest 
kind?  Will  you  rather  endure  intolerable  torment  for 
ever,  than  painfully  endeavour  to  be  holy  ?  What  does 
your  conduct,  my  brethren,  answer  to  these  questions  ? 
If  your  tongues  reply,  they  will  perhaps  for  your  credit 
give  a  right  answer ;  but  what  say  your  prevailing  dispo- 
sition and  common  practice  ?  are  you  not  more  thought- 
ful for  time  than  eternity  1  more  concerned  about  visible 
vanities  than  invisible  realities  ?  If  so,  you  make  a  fool's 
choice  indeed. 

But  let  it  be  further  considered,  that  the  transitoriness 
of  visible  things  may  imply  that  we  must  ere  long  be 
removed  from  them.  Though  they  were  immortal  it 
would  be  nothing  to  us,  since  we  are  not  so  in  our  present 
state.  Within  a  few  years  at  most,  we  shall  be  beyond 
the  reach  of  all  happiness  and  misery  from  temporal 
things. 

But  when  we  pass  out  of  this  transitory  state,  we  enter 
upon  an  everlasting  state.  Our  souls  will  always  exist, 
exist  in  a  state  of  unchangeable,  boundless  happiness  or 


332  THINGS    UNSEEN    TO    BE 

misery.  It  is  but  a  little  while  since  we  came  into  being 
out  of  a  state  of  eternal  non-existence ;  but  we  shall  never 
relapse  into  that  state  again.  These  little  sparks  of  being 
shall  never  be  extinguished  !  they  will  survive  the  ruins 
of  the  world,  and  kindle  into  immortality.  When  millions 
of  millions  of  ages  are  past,  we  shall  still  be  in  existence : 
and  oh !  in  what  unknown  region  ?  In  that  of  endless 
bliss  or  of  interminable  misery  ?  Be  this  the  most  anxious 
inquiry  of  our  lives. 

Seeing  then  we  must  soon  leave  this  world,  and  all  its 
joys  and  sorrows,  and  seeing  we  must  enter  on  an  un- 
changeable, everlasting  state  of  happiness  or  misery,  be  it 
our  chief  concern  to  end  our  present  pilgrimage  well.  It 
matters  but  little  whether  we  lie  easy  or  not  during  this 
night  of  existence,  if  so  be  we  awake  in  eternal  day.  It 
is  but  a  trifle,  hardly  worth  a  thought,  whether  we  be 
happy  or  miserable  here,  if  we  be  happy  for  ever  hereafter. 
What  then  mean  the  bustle  and  noise  of  mankind  about  the 
things  of  time  1  Oh,  sirs,  eternity !  awful,  all  important 
eternity !  is  the  only  thing  that  deserves  a  thought.  I  come, 

II.  To  show  the  great  and  happy  influence  a  suitable 
impression  of  the  superior  importance  of  invisible  to  visible 
things  would  have  upon  us.  This  I  might  exemplify  in  a 
variety  of  instances  with  respect  to  saints  and  sinners. 

When  we  are  tempted  to  any  unlawful  pleasures,  how 
would  we  shrink  away  with  horror  from  the  pursuit,  had 
we  a  due  sense  of  the  misery  incurred,  and  the  happiness 
forfeited  by  it ! 

When  we  find  our  hearts  excessively  eager  after  things 
below,  had  we  a  suitable  view  of  eternal  things,  all  these 
things  would  shrink  into  trifles  hardly  worth  a  thought, 
much  less  our  principal  concern. 

When  the  sinner,  for  the  sake  of  a  little  present  ease, 
and  to  avoid  a  little  present  uneasiness  stifles  his  conscience, 


PREFERRED    TO    THINGS    SEEN.  333 

refuses  to  examine  his  condition,  casts  the  thoughts  of  eter- 
nity out  of  his  mind,  and  thinks  it  too  hard  to  attend  pain- 
fully on  all  the  means  of  grace,  has  he  then  a  due  estimate 
of  eternal  things  ?  Alas  !  no ;  he  only  looks  at  the  things 
that  are  seen.  Were  the  mouth  of  hell  open  before  him, 
that  he  might  behold  its  torments,  and  had  he  a  sight  of 
the  joys  of  paradise,  they  would  harden  him  into  a  gener- 
ous insensibility  of  all  the  sorrows  and  anxieties  of  this  life, 
and  his  inquiry  would  not  be,  whether  these  things  re- 
quired of  him  are  easy;  but,  whether  they  are  necessary 
to  obtain  eternal  happiness,  and  avoid  everlasting  misery. 

When  we  suffer  any  reproach  or  contempt  on  a  religious 
account,  how  would  a  due  estimate  of  eternal  things  fortify 
us  with  undaunted  courage  and  make  us  willing  to  climb 
to  heaven  through  disgrace,  rather  than  sink  to  hell  with 
general  applause ! 

How  would  a  realizing  view  of  eternal  things  animate 
us  in  our  devotions?  Were  this  thought  impressed  on 
our  hearts  when  in  the  secret  or  social  duties  of  religion, 
"  I  am  now  acting  for  eternity,"  do  you  think  we  should 
pray,  read,  or  hear  with  so  much  indifferency  and  langour? 
Oh  no ;  it  would  rouse  us  out  of  our  dead  frames,  and  call 
forth  all  the  vigour  of  our  souls.  With  what  unwearied 
importunity  should  we  cry  to  God !  with  what  eagerness 
hear  the  word  of  salvation  ! 

How  powerful  an  influence  would  a  view  of  futurity 
have  to  alarm  the  secure  sinner  that  has  thought  little  of 
eternity  all  his  life,  though  it  be  the  only  thing  worth 
thinking  of! 

How  would  it  hasten  the  determination  of  the  lingering, 
wavering  sinner,  and  shock  him  at  the  thought  of  living 
one  day  unprepared  on  the  very  brink  of  eternity ! 

In  a  word,  a  suitable  impression  of  this  would  quite 
alter  the  aspect  of  things  in  the  world,  and  would  turn  the 


334       THINGS  UNSEEN  PREFERRED  TO  THINGS  SEEN. 

concern  and  activity  of  the  world  into  another  channel. 
Eternity  then  would  be  the  principal  concern.  Our  inqui- 
ries would  not  be,  Who  will  show  us  any  temporal  good? 
What  shall  we  eat,  or  what  shall  we  drink?  But,  What 
shall  we  do  to  be  saved  ?  How  shall  we  escape  the  wrath 
to  come?  Let  us  then  endeavour  to  impress  our  hearts 
with  invisible  things,  and  for  that  purpose  consider,  that 

We  shall,  ere  long,  be  ingulfed  in  this  awful  eternity, 
whether  we  think  of  it  or  not.  A  few  days  or  years  will 
launch  us  there;  and  oh,  the  surprising  scenes  that  will 
then  open  to  us ! 

Without  deep  impressions  of  eternity  on  our  hearts,  and 
frequent  thoughtfulness  about  it,  we  cannot  be  prepared 
for  it. 

And  if  we  are  not  prepared  for  it,  oh,  how  inconceive- 
ably  miserable  our  case !  But  if  prepared,  how  inconceive- 
ably  happy ! 

Look  not  then  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the 
things  which  are  not  seen  ;  for  the  things  which  are  seen 
are  temporal ;  but  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal. 


THE  SACRED  IMPORT  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  NAME.      335 


SERMON  XII. 

THE    SACRED    IMPORT    OF    THE   CHRISTIAN   NAME. 

ACTS  xi.  26. — The  Disciples  were  catted  Christians  first 

in  Antioch. 

MERE  names  are  empty  sounds,  and  but  of  little  conse- 
quence :  and  yet  it  must  be  owned  there  are  names  of 
honour  and  significancy;  and,  when  they  are  attended 
with  the  things  signified  by  them,  they  are  of  great  and 
sacred  importance. 

Such  is  the  Christian  name ;  a  name  about  seventeen 
hundred  years  old.  And  now  when  the  name  is  almost 
lost  in  party-distinctions,  and  the  thing  is  almost  lost  in  ig- 
norance, error,  vice,  hypocrisy,  and  formality,  it  may  be 
worth  our  while  to  consider  the  original  import  of  that 
sacred  name,  as  a  proper  expedient  to  recover  both  name 
and  thing. 

The  name  of  Christian  was  not  the  first  by  which  the 
followers  of  Christ  were  distinguished.  Their  enemies 
called  them  Galileans,  Nazarenes,  and  other  names  of  con- 
tempt: and  among  themselves  they  were  called  Saints, 
from  their  holiness;  Disciples,  from  their  learning  their 
religion  from  Christ  as  their  teacher ;  Believers,  from  their 
believing  in  him  as  the  Messiah;  and  Brethren,  from  their 
mutual  love  and  their  relation  to  God  and  each  other. 
But  after  some  time  they  were  distinguished  by  the  name 
of  Christians.  This  they  first  received  in  Antioch,  a  hea- 
then city,  a  city  infamous  for  all  manner  of  vice  and  de- 


336  THE  SACRED  IMPORT  OF 

bauchery :  a  city  that  had  its  name  from  Antiochus  Epi- 
phanes,  the  bitterest  enemy  the  church  of  the  Jews  ever 
had.  A  city  very  rich  and  powerful,  from  whence  the 
Christian  name  would  have  an  extensive  circulation ;  but 
it  is  long  since  laid  in  ruins,  unprotected  by  that  sacred 
name :  in  such  a  city  was  Christ  pleased  to  confer  his  name 
upon  his  followers ;  and  you  cannot  but  see  that  the  very 
choice  of  the  place  discovers  his  wisdom,  grace,  and  justice. 

The  original  word,  which  is  here  rendered  catted,  seems 
to  intimate  that  they  were  called  Christians  by  divine  ap- 
pointment, for  it  generally  signifies  an  oracular  nomination 
or  a  declaration  from  God ;  and  to  this  purpose  it  is  gene- 
rally translated.*  Hence  it  follows  that  the  very  name 
Christian,  as  well  as  the  thing,  was  of  a  divine  original; 
assumed  not  by  a  private  agreement  of  the  disciples  among 
themselves,  but  by  the  appointment  of  God.  And  in  this 
view  it  is  a  remarkable  accomplishment  of  an  old  prophecy 
of  Isaiah,  chap.  Ixii.  2.  The  Gentiles  shall  see  thy  right- 
eousness, and  all  kings  thy  glory  :  and  thou  shalt  be  called 
by  a  new  name,  which  the  mouth  of  the  LORD  shall  name. 
So  Isaiah  Ixv.  15.  The  Lord  shall  call  his  servants  by  an- 
other name. 

This  name  was  at  first  confined  to  a  few;  but  it  soon 
had  a  surprisingly  extensive  propagation  through  the 
world.  In  many  countries,  indeed,  it  was  lost,  and  mise- 

*  "It  is  this  word  that  is  used,  Matt.  ii.  12.  Kal  xpnna™0cVTss,  being 
warned  of  God,  and  the  like  in  Matt.  ii.  22.  So  in  Rom.  xi.  4,  xpiitana^;, 
is  rendered  the  answer  of  God.  Rom.  vii.  3,  xp^anVtc,  she  shall  be  called, 
x»tz.  by  the  divine  law,)  an  adultress.  Luke  ii.  26,  xtxpr^aTurnivov,  it  was  re- 
vealed to  him  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Acts  x.  22,  txpn/ianVflr,  was  warned  from 
God.  Heb.  viii.  5,  Kcxpn/ianVrai  Mtoo-tj,  Moses  was  admonished  of  God. 
Heb.  xi.  7  :  Noah  being  warned  of  God,  xp^an<r9«.f,  Heb.  xii.  25.  If  they 
escaped  not,  who  refused  him  that  spake  on  earth  ;  viz.  by  divine  inspi- 
ration. These  are  all  the  places  perhaps  in  which  the  word  is  used  in  the 
New  Testament :  and  in  all  these  it  seems  to  mean  a  revelation  from  God, 
or  something  oracular.  And  this  is  a  strong  presumption  that  the  word 
is  to  be  so  understood  in  the  text." 


THE    CHRISTIAN    NAME.  337 

rably  exchanged  for  that  of  Heathen,  Mahometan,  or  Mus- 
selman.  Yet  the  European  nations  still  retain  the  honour 
of  wearing  it.  A  few  scattered  Christians  are  also  still  to 
be  found  here  and  there  in  Asia  and  Africa,  though  crushed 
under  the  oppressions  of  Mahometans  and  Pagans.  This 
name  has  likewise  crossed  the  wide  ocean  to  the  wilder- 
ness of  America,  and  is  worn  by  the  sundry  European 
colonies  on  this  continent.  We,  in  particular,  call  our- 
selves Christians,  and  should  take  it  ill  to  be  denied  the 
honour  of  that  distinction.  But  do  we  not  know  the 
meaning  and  sacred  import  of  that  name?  Do  we  not 
know  what  it  is  to  be  Christians  indeed?  That  is,  to  be 
in  reality  what  we  are  in  name :  certainly  it  is  time  for  us 
to  consider  the  matter;  and  it  is  my  present  design  that 
we  should  do  so. 

Now  we  may  consider  this  name  in  various  views ;  par- 
ticularly as  a  name  of  distinction  from  the  rest  of  the 
world,  who  know  not  the  Lord  Jesus,  or  reject  him  as  an 
impostor ; — as  a  patronymic  name,  pointing  out  the  Father 
and  Founder  of  our  holy  religion  and  the  Christian  church ; 
— as  a  badge  of  our  relation  to  Christ  as  his  servants,  his 
children,  his  bride ; — as  intimating  our  unction  by  the  holy 
Spirit,  or  our  being  the  subjects  of  his  influences ;  as  Christ 
was  anointed  by  the  holy  Spirit,  or  replenished  with  his 
gifts  above  measure,  (for  you  are  to  observe  that  anointed 
is  the  English  of  the  Greek  name  Christ,  and  of  the  He- 
brew, Messiah*)  and  as  a  name  of  approbation,  signifying 
that  we  are  the  property  of  Christ,  and  his  peculiar  peo- 
ple. Each  of  these  particulars  might  be  properly  illus- 
trated.! But  my  present  design  confines  me  to  consider 

*  Psalm  cv.  15.  Touch  not  my  Christs ;  that  is,  my  anointed  people. 
So  the  Seventy. 

f  See  a  fine  illustration  of  them  in  Dr.  Grosvenor's  excellent  essay  on  the 
Christian  name  ;  from  whom  I  am  not  ashamed  to  borrow  several  amiable 
sentiments. 

VOL.  I.— 43 


338  THE  SACRED  IMPORT  OF 

the  Christian  name  only  in  two  views ;  namely,  as  a  catho- 
lic name,  intended  to  bury  all  party  denominations ;  and  as 
a  name  of  obligation  upon  all  that  wear  it  to  be  Christians 
indeed,  or  to  form  their  temper  and  practice  upon  the 
sacred  model  of  Christianity. 

1.  Let  us  consider  the  Christian  name  as  a  catholic 
name,  intended  to  bury  all  party  denominations. 

The  name  Gentile  was  odious  to  the  Jews,  and  the 
name  Jew  was  odious  to  the  Gentiles.  The  name  Chris- 
tian swallows  up  both  in  one  common  and  agreeable  ap- 
pellation. He  that  hath  taken  down  the  partition-wall, 
has  taken  away  partition  names,  and  united  all  his  followers 
in  his  own  name,  as  a  common  denomination.  For  now, 
says  Paul,  "  there  is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  circumcision 
nor  uncircumcision,  Barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  nor  free ;  but 
Christ  is  all  and  in  all."  Col.  iii.  11.  "And  ye  are  all 
one  in  Christ  Jesus."  Gal.  iii.  28.  According  to  a 
prophecy  of  Zechariah,  The  LORD  shall  be  king  over  all 
the  earth;  and  in  that  day  there  shall  be  one  LORD,  and 
his  name  one.  Zech.  xiv.  9. 

It  is  but  a  due  honour  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  founder  of 
Christianity,  that  all  who  profess  his  religion  should  wear 
his  name ;  and  they  pay  an  extravagant  and  even  idolatrous 
compliment  to  his  subordinate  officers  and  ministers,  when 
they  take  their  denomination  from  them.  Had  this 
humour  prevailed  in  the  primitive  church,  instead  of  the 
common  name  Christians,  there  would  have  been  as  many 
party-names  as  there  were  apostles  or  eminent  ministers. 
There  would  have  been  Paulites  from  Paul;  Peterites 
from  Peter;  Johnites  from  John;  Barnabites  from  Bar- 
nabas, &c.  Paul  took  pains  to  crush  the  first  risings  of 
this  party  spirit  in  those  churches  which  he  planted ;  par- 
ticularly in  Corinth,  where  it  most  prevailed.  While  they 
were  saying,  Jaw  of  Paul;  and  I  of  Apollos ;  and  I  of 


THE    CHRISTIAN    NAME. 

Cephas;  and  I  of  Christ ;  he  puts  this  pungent  question 
to  them  :  "  Is  Christ  divided  ?"  Are  his  servants  the  ring- 
leaders of  so  many  parties?  Was  Paul  crucified  for  you? 
or  were  ye  baptized  in  or  into  the  name  of  Paul,  that  ye 
should  be  so  fond  to  take  your  name  from  him?  He 
counted  it  a  happiness  that  Providence  had  directed  him 
to  such  a  conduct  as  gave  no  umbrage  of  encouragement 
to  such  a  humour.  I  thank  God,  says  he,  that  I  baptized 
none  of  you,  but  Crispus  and  Gains :  lest  any  should  say, 
that  I  baptized  in  my  own  name,  and  was  gathering  a  party 
for  myself.  1  Cor.  i.  12-15. 

But  alas!  how  little  has  this  convictive  reasoning  of 
the  apostle  been  regarded  in  the  future  ages  of  the  church  ? 
What  an  endless  variety  of  denominations  taken  from  some 
men  of  character,  or  from  some  little  peculiarities,  has  pre- 
vailed in  the  Christian  world,  and  crumbled  it  to  pieces, 
while  the  Christian  name  is  hardly  regarded?  Not  to 
take  notice  of  Jesuits,  Jansenites,  Dominicans,  Franciscans, 
and  other  denominations  and  orders  in  the  popish  church, 
where  having  corrupted  the  thing,  they  act  very  con- 
sistently to  lay  aside  the  name,  what  party  names  have 
been  adopted  by  the  Protestant  churches,  whose  religion 
is  substantially  the  same  common  Christianity,  and  who 
agree  in  much  more  important  articles  than  in  those  they 
differ;  and  who  therefore  might  peaceably  unite  under  the 
common  name  of  Christians?  We  have  Lutherans,  Cal- 
vinists,  Arminians,  Zuinglians,  Churchmen,  Presbyterians, 
Independents,  Baptists,  and  a  long  list  of  names  which  I 
cannot  now  enumerate.  To  be  a  Christian  is  not  enough 
now-a-days,  but  a  man  must  also  be  something  more  and 
better;  that  is,  he  must  be  a  strenuous  bigot  to  this  or  that 
particular  church.  But  where  is  the  reason  or  propriety 
of  this?  I  may  indeed  believe  the  same  things  which 
Luther  or  Calvin  believed :  but  I  do  not  believe  them  on 


340  THE  SACRED  IMPORT  OF 

the  authority  of  Luther  or  Calvin,  but  upon  the  sole 
authority  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  therefore  I  should  not  call 
myself  by  their  name,  as  one  of  their  disciples,  but  by  the 
name  of  Christ,  whom  alone  I  acknowledge  as  the  Author 
of  my  religion,  and  my  only  Master  and  Lord.  If  I  learn 
my  religion  from  one  of  these  great  men,  it  is  indeed 
proper  I  should  assume  their  name.  If  I  learn  it  from  a 
parliament  or  convocation,  and  make  their  acts  and  canons 
the  rule  and  ground  of  my  faith,  then  it  is  enough  for  me 
to  be  of  the  established  religion,  be  that  what  it  will :  I 
may  with  propriety  be  called  a  mere  conformist ;  that  is 
my  highest  character:  but  I  cannot  be  properly  called  a 
Christian :  for  a  Christian  learns  his  religion,  not  from  acts 
of  parliament  or  from  the  determinations  of  councils,  but 
from  Jesus  Christ  and  his  gospel. 

To  guard  against  mistakes  on  this  head,  I  would  observe 
that  every  man  has  a  natural  and  legal  right  to  judge  and 
choose  for  himself  in  matters  of  religion;  and  that  is  a 
mean,  supple  soul  indeed,  and  utterly  careless  about  all  re- 
ligion, that  makes  a  compliment  of  this  right  to  any  man, 
or  body  of  men  upon  earth,  whether  pope,  king,  parlia- 
ment, convocation,  or  synod.  In  the  exercise  of  this  right 
and  searching  for  himself,  he  will  find  that  he  agrees  more 
fully  in  lesser  as  well  as  more  important  articles  with  some 
particular  church  than  others;  and  thereupon  it  is  his  duty 
to  join  in  stated  communion  with  that  church;  and  he 
may,  if  he  pleases,  assume  the  name  which  that  church 
wears,  by  way  of  distinction  from  others;  this  is  not  what 
I  condemn.  But  for  me  to  glory  in  the  denomination  of 
any  particular  church  as  my  highest  character;  to  lay 
more  stress  upon  the  name  of  a  presbyterian  or  a  church- 
man, than  on  the  sacred  name  of  Christian;  to  make  a 
punctilious  agreement  with  my  sentiments  in  the  little  pe- 
culiarities of  a  party  the  test  of  all  religion;  to  make  it  the 


THE    CHRISTIAN    NAME.  341 

object  of  my  zeal  to  gain  proselytes  to  some  other  than 
the  Christian  name ;  to  connive  at  the  faults  of  those  of  my 
own  party,  and  to  be  blind  to  the  good  qualities  of  others, 
or  invidiously  to  misrepresent  or  diminish  them;  these  are 
the  things  which  deserve  universal  condemnation  from 
God  and  man;  these  proceed  from  a  spirit  of  bigotry  and 
faction,  directly  opposite  to  the  generous  catholic  spirit  of 
Christianity,  and  subversive  of  it.  And  yet  how  common 
is  this  spirit  among  all  denominations!  and  what  mischief 
has  it  done  in  the  world !  Hence  proceed  contentions  and 
animosities,  uncharitable  suspicions  and  censures,  slander 
and  detraction,  partiality  and  unreasonable  prejudices,  and 
a  hideous  group  of  evils,  which  I  cannot  now  describe. 
This  spirit  also  hinders  the  progress  of  serious  practical 
religion,  by  turning  the  attention  of  men  from  the  great 
concerns  of  eternity,  and  the  essentials  of  Christianity,  to 
vain  jangling  and  contest  about  circumstances  and  trifles. 
Thus  the  Christian  is  swallowed  up  in  the  partisan  and 
fundamentals  lost  in  extra-essentials. 

My  brethren,  I  would  now  warn  you  against  this 
wretched,  mischievous  spirit  of  party.  I  would  not  have 
you  entirely  sceptical  and  undetermined  even  about  the 
smaller  points  of  religion,  the  modes  and  forms,  which  are 
the  matters  of  contention  between  different  churches;  nor 
would  I  have  you  quite  indifferent  what  particular  church 
to  join  with  in  stated  communion.  Endeavour  to  find 
out  the  truth  even  in  these  circumstantials,  at  least  so  far 
as  is  necessary  for  the  direction  of  your  own  conduct. 
But  do  not  make  these  the  whole  or  the  principal  part  of 
your  religion;  do  not  be  excessively  zealous  about  them, 
nor  break  the  peace  of  the  church  by  magisterially  im- 
posing them  upon  others.  "  Hast  thou  faith  in  these  little 
disputables  ?"  it  is  well;  "but  have  it  to  thyself  before 
God,"  and  do  not  disturb  others  with  it.  You  may,  if  you 


342  THE    SACRED    IMPORT    OF 

please,  call  yourselves  Presbyterians  and  Dissenters,  and 
you  shall  bear  without  shame  or  resentment  all  the  names 
of  reproach  and  contempt  which  the  world  may  brand  you 
with.  But  as  you  should  not  be  mortified  on  the  one 
side,  so  neither  should  you  glory  on  the  other.  A  Chris- 
tian! a  Christian!  let  that  be  your  highest  distinction;  let 
that  be  the  name  which  you  labour  to  deserve.  God  for- 
bid that  my  ministry  should  be  the  occasion  of  diverting 
your  attention  to  any  thing  else.  But  I  am  so  happy  that 
I  can  appeal  to  yourselves,  whether  I  have  during  several 
years  of  my  ministry  among  you,  laboured  to  instil  into 
you  the  principles  of  bigotry,  and  make  you  warm  prose- 
lytes to  a  party :  or  whether  it  has  not  been  the  great  ob- 
ject of  my  zeal  to  inculcate  upon  you  the  grand  essentials 
of  our  holy  religion,  and  make  you  sincere,  practical  Chris- 
tians. Alas!  my  dear  people,  unless  I  succeed  in  this,  I 
labour  to  very  little  purpose,  though  I  should  presbyte- 
rianize  the  whole  colony. 

Calumny  and  slander,  it  is  hoped,  have  by  this  time 
talked  themselves  out  of  breath;  and  the  lying  spirit  may 
be  at  a  loss  for  materials  to  form  a  popular,  plausible  false- 
hood, which  is  likely  to  be  credited  where  the  dissenters 
are  known.  But  you  have  heard  formerly,  and  some  of 
you  may  still  hear  strange  and  uncommon  surmises,  wild 
conjectures,  and  most  dismal  insinuations.  But  if  you 
would  know  the  truth  at  once,  if  you  would  be  fully  in- 
formed by  one  that  best  knows  what  religion  I  am  of,  I 
will  tell  you  (with  Mr.  Baxter,)  "  I  am  a  Christian,  a  mere 
Christian ;  of  no  other  religion :  my  church  is  the  Christian 
church."  The  Bible!  the  Bible!  is  my  religion;  and  if  I 
am  a  dissenter,  I  dissent  only  from  modes  and  forms  of  re- 
ligion which  I  cannot  find  in  my  Bible;  and  which  there- 
fore I  conclude  have  nothing  to  do  with  religion,  much 
less  should  they  be  made  terms  of  Christian  communion, 


THE   CHRISTIAN   NAME.  343 

since  Christ,  the  only  lawgiver  of  his  church,  has  not  made 
them  such.  Let  this  congregation  be  that  of  a  Christian 
society,  and  I  little  care  what  other  name  it  wears.  Let 
it  be  a  little  Antioch,  where  the  followers  of  Christ  shall 
be  distinguished  by  their  old  Catholic  name,  Christians. 
To  bear  and  deserve  this  character,  let  this  be  our  ambi- 
tion, this  our  labour.  Let  popes  pronounce,  and  councils 
decree  what  they  please;  let  statesmen  and  ecclesiastics 
prescribe  what  to  believe;  as  for  us,  let  us  study  our 
Bibles:  let  us  learn  of  Christ;  and  if  we  are  not  dignified 
with  the  smiles,  or  enriched  with  the  emoluments  of  an 
establishment,  we  shall  have  his  approbation,  who  is  the 
only  Lord  and  Sovereign  of  the  realm  of  conscience,  and 
by  whose  judgment  we  must  stand  or  fall  for  ever. 

But  it  is  time  for  me  to  proceed  to  consider  the  other 
view  of  the  Christian  name,  on  which  I  intend  principally 
to  insist ;  and  that  is, 

II.  As  a  name  of  obligation  upon  all  that  bear  it  to  be 
Christians  indeed,  or  to  form  their  temper  and  practice 
upon  the  sacred  model  of  Christianity.  The  prosecution 
of  this  subject  will  lead  me  to  answer  this  important  in- 
quiry, What  is  it  to  be  a  Christian  ? 

To  be  a  Christian,  in  the  popular  and  fashionable  sense, 
is  no  difficult  or  excellent  thing.  It  is  to  be  baptized,  to 
profess  the  Christian  religion,  to  believe,  like  our  neigh- 
bours, that  Christ  is  the  Messiah,  and  to  attend  upon  pub- 
lic worship  once  a  week,  in  some  church  or  other  that 
bears  only  the  Christian  name.  In  this  sense  a  man  may 
be  a  Christian,  and  yet  be  habitually  careless  about  eternal 
things;  a  Christian,  and  yet  fall  short  of  the  morality  of 
many  of  the  heathens;  a  Christian,  and  yet  a  drunkard,  a 
swearer,  or  a  slave  to  some  vice  or  other ;  a  Christian,  and 
yet  a  wilful,  impenitent  offender  against  God  and  man. 
To  be  a  Christian  in  this  sense  is  no  high  character;  and, 


344  THE    SACRED    IMPORT    OF 

if  this  be  the  whole  of  Christianity,  it  is  very  little  matter 
whether  the  world  be  Christianized  or  not.  But  is  this 
to  be  a  Christian  in  the  original  and  proper  sense  of  the 
word  ?  No ;  that  is  something  of  a  very  different  and 
superior  kind.  To  be  a  Christian  indeed,  is  the  highest 
character  and  dignity  of  which  the  human  nature  is  capa- 
ble :  it  is  the  most  excellent  thing  that  ever  adorned  our 
world  :  it  is  a  thing  that  heaven  itself  beholds  with  appro- 
bation and  delight. 

To  be  a  Christian  is  to  be  like  to  Christ,  from  whom 
the  name  is  taken :  it  is  to  be  a  follower  and  imitator  of 
him ;  to  be  possessed  of  his  spirit  and  temper ;  and  to 
live  as  he  lived  in  the  world  :  it  is  to  have  those  just,  ex- 
alted, and  divine  notions  of  God  and  divine  things,  and 
that  just  and  full  view  of  our  duty  to  God  and  man,  which 
Christ  taught :  in  short  it  is  to  have  our  sentiments,  our 
temper,  and  practice,  formed  upon  the  sacred  model  of 
the  gospel.  Let  me  expatiate  a  little  upon  this  amiable 
character. 

1.  To  be  a  Christian,  is  to  depart  from  iniquity.  To 
this  the  name  obliges  us;  and  without  this  we  have  no 
title  to  the  name.  "  Let  every  one  that  nameth  the  name 
of  Christ  depart  from  iniquity,"  2  Tim.  ii  19;  that  is,  let 
him  depart  from  iniquity,  or  not  dare  to  touch  that  sacred 
name.  Christ  was  perfectly  free  from  sin  :  he  was  "holy, 
harmless,  undefiled,  and  separate  from  sinners."  His  fol- 
lowers also  shall  be  perfectly  free  from  sin  in  a  little  time; 
ere  long  they  will  enter  into  the  pure  regions  of  perfect 
holiness,  and  will  drop  all  their  sins,  with  their  mortal 
bodies,  into  the  grave.  But  this,  alas !  is  not  their  cha- 
racter in  the  present  state,  but  the  remains  of  sin  still  cleave 
to  them.  Yet  even  in  the  present  state,  they  are  labour- 
ing after  perfection  in  holiness.  Nothing  can  satisfy  them 
until  they  are  conformed  to  the  image  of  God's  dear  Son. 


THE   CHRISTIAN    NAME.  345 

They  are  hourly  conflicting  with  every  temptation,  and 
vigorously  resisting  every  iniquity  in  its  most  alluring 
forms.  And,  though  sin  is  perpetually  struggling  for  the 
mastery,  and  sometimes,  in  an  inadvertent  hour,  gets  an 
advantage  over  them,  yet,  as  they  are  not  under  the  law, 
but  under  grace,  they  are  assisted  with  recruits  of  grace, 
so  that  no  sin  has  any  habitual  dominion  over  them.  Rom. 
vi.  14.  Hence  they  are  free  from  the  gross  vices  of  the 
age,  and  are  men  of  good  morals.  This  is  their  habitual, 
universal  character;  and  to  pretend  to  be  Christians  with- 
out this  requisite,  is  the  greatest  absurdity. 

What  then  shall  we  think  of  the  drunken,  swearing, 
debauched,  defrauding,  rakish,  profligate,  profane  Chris- 
tians, that  have  overrun  the  Christian  world  1  Can  there 
be  a  greater  contradiction  ?  A  loyal  subject  in  arms 
against  his  sovereign,  an  ignorant  scholar,  a  sober  drunk- 
ard, a  charitable  miser,  an  honest  thief,  is  not  a  greater 
absurdity,  or  a  more  direct  contradiction.  To  depart  from 
iniquity  is  essential  to  Christianity,  and  without  it  there 
can  be  no  such  thing.  There  was  nothing  that  Christ  was 
so  remote  from  as  sin :  and  therefore  for  those  that  in- 
dulge themselves  in  it  to  wear  his  name,  is  just  as  absurd 
and  ridiculous  as  for  a  coward  to  denominate  himself  from 
Alexander  the  Great,  or  an  illiterate  dunce  to  call  himself 
a  Newtonian  philosopher.  Therefore,  if  you  will  not  re- 
nounce iniquity,  renounce  the  Christian  name :  for  you 
cannot  consistently  retain  both.  Alexander  had  a  fellow 
in  his  army  that  was  of  his  own  name,  but  a  mere  coward. 
"  Either  be  like  me,"  says  Alexander,  "  or  lay  aside  my 
name."  Ye  servants  of  sin,  it  is  in  vain  for  you  to  wear 
the  name  of  Christ ;  it  renders  you  the  more  ridiculous, 
and  aggravates  your  guilt :  you  may  with  as  much  pro- 
priety call  yourselves  lords,  or  dukes,  or  kings,  as  Chris- 
tians, while  you  are  so  unlike  to  Christ.  His  name  is  a 

VOL.  I.— 44 


346  THE    SACRED    IMPORT    OF 

sarcasm,  a  reproach  to  you,  and  you  are  a  scandal  to  his 
name.  His  name  is  blasphemed  among  the  Gentiles 
through  you. 

2.  To  be  a  Christian  is  to  deny  yourselves  and  take  up 
the  cross  and  follow  Christ.  These  are  the  terms  of  dis- 
cipleship  fixed  by  Christ  himself.  He  said  to  them  all,  If 
any  man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take 
up  his  cross  daily,  and  follow  me.  Luke  ix.  23.  To  deny 
ourselves  is  to  abstain  from  the  pleasures  of  sin,  to  moder- 
ate our  sensual  appetites,  to  deny  our  own  interest  for  the 
sake  of  Christ,  and  in  short,  to  sacrifice  every  thing  incon- 
sistent with  our  duty  to  him,  when  these  come  in  compe- 
tition. To  take  up  our  cross,  is  to  bear  sufferings,  to  en- 
counter difficulties,  and  break  through  them  all  in  imita- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ,  and  for  his  sake.  To  follow  him,  is 
to  trace  his  steps,  and  imitate  his  example,  whatever  it  cost 
us.  But  this  observation  will  coincide  with  the  next  head, 
and  therefore  I  now  dismiss  it.  These,  sirs,  and  these 
only,  are  the  terms,  if  you  would  be  Christians,  or  the  dis- 
ciples of  Christ.  These  he  honestly  warned  mankind  of 
when  he  first  called  them  to  be  his  disciples.  He  did  not 
take  an  advantage  of  them,  but  let  them  know  beforehand 
upon  what  terms  they  were  admitted.  He  makes  this  de- 
claration in  the  midst  of  a  great  crowd,  in  Luke  xiv.  25, 
&c.  There  went  great  multitudes  with  him,  fond  of  be- 
coming his  followers :  and  he  turned,  and  said  unto  them, 
If  any  man  come  to  me,  and  hate  not  his  father,  and 
mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and  brethren,  and  sisters, 
yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple.  By 
hating,  is  here  meant  a  smaller  degree  of  love,  or  a  com- 
parative hatred ;  that  is,  if  we  would  be  Christ's  disciples. 
we  must  be  willing  to  part  with  our  dearest  relations,  and 
even  our  lives,  when  we  cannot  retain  them  consistently 
with  our  duty  to  him.  He  goes  on :  Whosoever  doth  not 


THE    CHRISTIAN    NAME.  347 

bear  his  cross,  and  encounter  the  greatest  sufferings  after 
my  example,  cannot  be  my  disciple.  The  love  of  Christ 
is  the  ruling  passion  of  every  true  Christian,  and  for  his 
sake  he  is  ready  to  give  up  all,  and  to  suffer  all  that  earth 
or  hell  can  inflict.  He  must  run  all  risks,  and  cleave  to 
his  cause  at  all  adventures.  This  is  the  essential  charac- 
ter of  every  true  Christian. 

What  then  shall  we  think  of  those  crowds  among  us 
who  retain  the  Christian  name,  and  yet  will  not  deny 
themselves  of  their  sensual  pleasures,  nor  part  with  their 
temporal  interest  for  the  sake  of  Christ  ?  Who  are  so  far 
from  being  willing  to  lay  down  their  lives,  that  they  can- 
not stand  the  force  of  a  laugh  or  a  sneer  in  the  cause  of 
religion,  but  immediately  stumble  and  fall  away  ?  or,  are 
they  Christians,  whom  the  commands  of  Christ  cannot  re- 
strain from  what  their  depraved  hearts  desire  ?  No ;  a 
Christian,  without  self-denial,  mortification,  and  a  supreme 
love  to  Jesus  Christ,  is  as  great  a  contradiction  as  fire  with- 
out heat,  or  a  sun  without  light,  a  hero  without  courage, 
or  a  friend  without  love.  And  does  not  this  strip  some  of 
you  of  the  Christian  name,  and  prove  that  you  have  no 
title  at  all  to  it? 

3.  I  have  repeatedly  observed,  that  a  true  Christian 
must  be  a  follower  or  imitator  of  Christ.  Be  ye  followers 
of  me,  says  St.  Paul,  as  I  also  am  of  Christ.  1  Cor.  xi.  1. 
Christ  is  the  model  after  whom  every  Christian  is  formed ; 
for,  says  St.  Peter,  he  left  us  an  example,  that  we  should 
follow  his  steps.  1  Pet.  ii.  21.  St.  Paul  tells  us,  that  we 
must  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  God's  dear  Son,  Rom. 
vii.  29,  and  that  the  same  mind  must  be  in  us  which  was 
also  in  Christ  Jesus.  Phil.  ii.  5 ;  unless  we  partake  of  his 
spirit,  and  resemble  him  in  practice ;  unless  we  be  as  he 
was  in  the  world,  we  have  no  right  to  partake  of  his  name. 

Here  I  would  observe,  that  what  was  miraculous  in 


348  THE  SACRED  IMPORT  OF 

our  Lord's  conduct,  and  peculiar  to  him  as  the  Son  of 
God  and  Mediator,  is  not  a  pattern  for  our  imitation,  but 
only  what  was  done  in  obedience  to  that  law  of  God 
which  was  common  to  him  and  us.  His  heart  glowed 
with  love  to  his  Father;  he  delighted  in  universal  obedience 
to  him ;  it  was  his  meat  and  drink  to  do  his  will,  even  in 
the  most  painful  and  self-denying  instances ;  he  abounded 
in  devotion,  in  prayer,  meditation,  fasting,  and  every  re- 
ligious duty.  He  was  also  full  of  every  grace  and  virtue 
towards  mankind ;  meek  and  lowly,  kind  and  benevolent, 
just  and  charitable,  merciful  and  compassionate ;  a  dutiful 
son,  a  loyal  subject,  a  faithful  friend,  a  good  master,  and  an 
active,  useful,  public-spirited  member  of  society.  He  was 
patient  and  resigned,  and  yet  undaunted  and  brave  under 
sufferings;  he  had  all  his  appetites  and  passions  under 
proper  government,  he  was  heavenly-minded,  above  this 
world  in  heart  while  he  dwelt  in  it.  Beneficence  to  the 
souls  and  bodies  of  men  was  the  business  of  his  life ;  for 
he  went  about  doing  good.  Acts  x.  38.  This  is  an  imper- 
fect sketch  of  his  amiable  character ;  and  in  these  things 
every  one  that  deserves  to  be  called  after  his  name,  does 
in  some  measure  resemble  and  imitate  him.  This  is  not 
only  his  earnest  endeavour,  but  what  he  actually  attains, 
though  in  a  much  inferior  degree ;  and  his  imperfections 
are  the  grief  of  his  heart.  This  resemblance  and  imita- 
tion of  Christ  is  essential  to  the  very  being  of  a  Christian, 
and  without  it,  it  is  a  vain  pretence.  And  does  your 
Christianity,  my  brethren,  stand  this  test  ?  may  one  know 
that  you  belong  to  Christ  by  your  living  like  him,  and  dis- 
covering the  same  temper  and  spirit  ?  Do  the  manners 
of  the  divine  Master  spread  through  all  his  family ;  and 
do  you  show  that  you  belong  to  it  by  your  temper  and 
conduct  ?  Alas  !  if  you  must  be  denominated  from  hence, 
would  not  some  of  you  with  more  propriety  be  called 


THE   CHRISTIAN    NAME.  349 

Epicureans  from  Epicurus,  the  sensual  atheistic  philoso- 
pher, or  mammonites  from  Mammon,  the  imaginary  God  of 
riches,  or  Bacchanals  from  Bacchus,  the  god  of  wine, 
than  Christians  from  Christ,  the  most  perfect  pattern  of 
living  holiness  and  virtue  that  ever  was  exhibited  in  the 
world  ? 

If  you  claim  the  name  of  Christians,  where  is  that  ar- 
dent devotion,  that  affectionate  love  to  God,  that  zeal  for 
his  glory,  that  alacrity  in  his  service,  that  resignation  to 
his  will,  that  generous  benevolence  to  mankind,  that  zeal 
to  promote  their  best  interests,  that  meekness  and  forbear- 
ance under  ill  usage,  that  unwearied  activity  in  doing  good 
to  all,  that  self-denial  and  heavenly- mindedness  which  shone 
so  conspicuous  in  Christ,  whose  holy  name  you  bear? 
Alas!  while  you  are  destitute  of  those  graces,  and  yet 
wear  his  name,  you  burlesque  it,  and  turn  it  into  a  re- 
proach both  to  him  and  yourselves. 

I  might  add,  that  the  Christian  name  is  not  hereditary 
to  you  by  your  natural  birth,  but  you  must  be  born  anew 
of  the  Spirit  to  entitle  you  to  this  new  name;  that  a 
Christian  is  a  believer,  believing  in  him  after  whom  he  is 
called  as  his  only  Saviour  and  Lord,  and  that  he  is  a  true 
penitent.  Repentance  was  incompatible  with  Christ's 
character,  who  was  perfectly  righteous,  and  had  no  sin  of 
which  to  repent ;  but  it  is  a  proper  virtue  in  a  sinner, 
without  which  he  cannot  be  a  Christian.  On  these  and 
several  other  particulars  I  might  enlarge,  but  my  time 
will  not  allow ;  I  shall  therefore  conclude  with  a  few  re- 
flections. 

First,  You  may  hence  see  that  the  Christian  character 
is  the  highest,  the  most  excellent  and  sublime  in  the 
world;  it  includes  everything  truly  great  and  amiable. 
The  Christian  has  exalted  sentiments  of  the  Supreme  Be- 
ing, just  notions  of  duty,  and  a  proper  temper  and  con- 


350  THE    SACRED    IMPORT    OF 

duct  towards  God  and  man.  A  Christian  is  a  devout 
worshipper  of  the  God  of  heaven,  a  cheerful  observer  of 
his  whole  law,  and  a  broken-hearted  penitent  for  his  im- 
perfections. A  Christian  is  a  complication  of  all  the 
amiable  and  useful  graces  and  virtues;  temperate  and  so- 
ber, just,  liberal,  compassionate,  and  benevolent,  humble, 
meek,  gentle,  peaceable,  and  in  all  things  conscientious. 
A  Christian  is  a  good  parent,  a  good  child,  a  good  master, 
a  good  servant,  a  good  husband,  a  good  wife,  a  faithful 
friend,  an  obliging  neighbour,  a  dutiful  subject,  a  good  ruler, 
a  zealous  patriot,  and  an  honest  statesman ;  and  as  far  as 
he  is  such,  so  far,  and  no  farther,  he  is  a  Christian.  And 
can  there  be  a  more  amiable  and  excellent  character  ex- 
hibited to  your  view  ?  It  is  an  angelic,  a  divine  character. 
Let  it  be  your  glory  and  your  ambition  to  wear  it  with  a 
good  grace,  to  wear  it  so  as  to  adorn  it. 

To  acquire  the  title  of  kings  and  lords,  is  not  in  your 
power;  to  spread  your  fame  as  scholars,  philosophers,  or 
heroes,  may  be  beyond  your  reach ;  but  here  is  a  charac- 
ter more  excellent,  more  amiable,  more  honourable  than 
all  these,  which  it  is  your  business  to  deserve  and  maintain. 
And  blessed  be  God,  this  is  a  dignity  which  the  meanest 
among  you,  which  beggars  and  slaves  may  attain.  Let 
this  therefore  be  an  object  of  universal  ambition  and  pur- 
suit, and  let  every  other  name  and  title  be  despised  in 
comparison  of  it.  This  is  the  way  to  rise  to  true  honour 
in  the  estimate  of  God,  angels,  and  good  men.  What 
though  the  anti-christian  Christians  of  our  age  and  country 
ridicule  you?  let  them  consider  their  own  absurd  con- 
duct and  be  ashamed.  They  think  it  an  honour  to  wear 
the  Christian  name,  and  yet  persist  in  unchristian  prac- 
tices ;  and  who  but  a  fool,  with  such  palpable  contradic- 
tion, would  think  so  1  A  beggar  that  fancies  himself  a 
king  and  trails  his  rags  with  the  gait  of  majesty,  as  though 


THE    CHRISTIAN    NAME.  351 

they  were  royal  robes,  is  not  so  ridiculous  as  one  that  will 
usurp  the  Christian  name  without  a  Christian  practice; 
and  yet  such  Christians  are  the  favourites  of  the  world. 
To  renounce  the  profession  of  Christianity  is  barbarous 
and  profane;  to  live  according  to  that  profession,  and 
practice  Christianity,  is  precisentes  and  fanaticism.  Can 
anything  be  more  preposterous  ?  This  is  as  if  one  should 
ridicule  learning,  and  yet  glory  in  the  character  of  a 
scholar ;  or  laugh  at  bravery,  and  yet  celebrate  the  praises 
of  heroes.  And  are  they  fit  to  judge  of  the  wisdom  and 
propriety,  or  their  censures  to  be  regarded,  who  fall  into 
such  an  absurdity  themselves  ? 

Secondly,  Hence  you  may  see  that,  if  all  the  professors 
of  Christianity  should  behave  in  character,  the  religion  of 
Christ  would  soon  appear  divine  to  all  mankind,  and  spread 
through  all  nations  of  the  earth.  Were  Christianity  ex- 
hibited to  the  life  in  all  its  native  inherent  glories,  it  would 
be  as  needless  to  offer  arguments  to  prove  it  divine,  as  to 
prove  that  the  sun  is  full  of  light;  the  conviction  would 
flash  upon  all  mankind  by  its  own  intrinsic  evidence.  Did 
Christians  exemplify  the  religion  they  profess,  all  the 
world  would  immediately  see  that  that  religion  which  ren- 
dered them  so  different  a  people  from  all  the  rest  of  man- 
kind, is  indeed  divine,  and  every  way  worthy  of  universal 
acceptance.  Then  would 

Heathenism,  Mahometanism,  and  all  the  false  religions  in 
the  world,  fall  before  the  heaven-born  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Then  it  would  be  sufficient  to  convince  an  infidel 
just  to  bring  him  into  a  Christian  country,  and  let  him  ob- 
serve the  different  face  of  things  there  from  all  the  world 
beside.  But  alas ! 

Thirdly,  How  different  is  the  Christian  world  from  the 
Christian  religion !  Who  would  imagine  that  they  who 
take  their  name  from  Christ  have  any  relation  to  him,  if 


352  THE  SACRED  IMPORT  OF 

we  observe  their  spirit  and  practice  1  Should  a  stranger 
learn  Christianity  from  what  he  sees  in  Popish  countries, 
he  would  conclude  it  principally  consisted  in  bodily  au- 
sterities, in  worshipping  saints,  images,  relics,  and  a  thou- 
sand trifles,  in  theatrical  fopperies  and  insignificant  cere- 
monies, in  believing  implicitly  all  the  determinations  of  a 
fallible  man  as  infallibly  true,  and  in  persecuting  all  that 
differ  from  them,  and  showing  their  love  to  their  souls  by 
burning  their  bodies.  In  Protestant  countries,  alas !  the 
face  of  things  is  but  little  better  as  to  good  morals  and 
practical  religion.  Let  us  take  our  own  country  for  a 
sample.  Suppose  a  Heathen  or  Mahometan  should  take 
a  tour  through  Virginia  to  learn  the  religion  of  the  inhab- 

o  o  o 

itants  from  their  general  conduct,  what  would  he  conclude  ? 
would  he  not  conclude  that  all  the  religion  of  the  gene- 
rality consisted  in  a  few  Sunday  formalities,  and  that  the 
rest  of  the  week  they  had  nothing  to  do  with  God,  or  any 
religion,  but  were  at  liberty  to  live  as  they  please  ?  And 
were  he  told  these  were  the  followers  of  one  Christ,  and 
were  of  his  religion,  would  he  not  conclude  that  he  was 
certainly  an  impostor,  and  the  minister  of  sin  ?  But  when 
he  came  to  find  that,  notwithstanding  all  this  licentious- 
ness, they  professed  the  pure  and  holy  religion  of  the 
Bible,  how  would  he  be  astonished,  and  pronounce  them 
the  most  inconsistent,  bare-faced  hypocrites !  My  bre- 
thren, great  and  heavy  is  the  guilt  that  lies  upon  our 
country  upon  this  account.  It  is  a  scandal  to  the  Chris- 
tian name;  it  is  guilty  of  confirming  the  neighbouring 
heathen  in  their  prejudices,  and  hinders  the  propagation 
of  Christianity  through  the  world.  Oh  let  not  us  be  ac- 
cessary to  this  dreadful  guilt,  but  do  all  we  can  to  recom- 
mend our  religion  to  universal  acceptance ! — I  add, 

Fourthly,  and  lastly,  Let  us  examine  whether  we  have 
any  just  title  to  the  Christian  name ;  that  is,  whether  we 


THE    CHRISTIAN    NAME.  353 

are  Christians  indeed;  for  if  we  have  not  the  thing,  to  re- 
tain the  name  is  the  most  inconsistent  folly  and  hypocrisy, 
and  will  answer  no  end  but  to  aggravate  our  condemnation. 
A  lost  Christian  is  the  most  shocking  character  in  hell ; 
and  unless  you  be  such  Christians  as  I  have  described,  it 
will  ere  long  be  your  character.  Therefore,  be  followers 
of  Christ,  imbibe  his  spirit,  practise  his  precepts,  and  de- 
part from  iniquity.  Otherwise  he  will  sentence  you  from 
him  at  last  as  workers  of  iniquity.  And  then  will  I  pro- 
fess unto  them  (they  are  Christ's  own  words)  I  never  knew 
you  ;  depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity.  Matt.  vii.  23. 
VOL.  I.— 45 


354  THE    DIVINE    MERCY 


SERMON  XIIL 

THE    DIVINE    MERCY    TO    MOURNING    PENITENTS. 

JER.  xxxi.  18,  19,  20. — I  have  surely  heard  Ephraim  be- 
moaning himself  thus ;  Thou  hast  chastised  me,  and  I 
was  chastised,  as  a  bullock  unaccustomed  to  the  yoke  : 
turn  thou  me,  and  I  shall  be  turned ;  for  thou  art  the 
LORD  my  God.  Surely  after  that  I  was  turned,  I  re- 
pented ;  and  after  that  I  was  instructed,  I  smote  upon 
my  thigh  :  I  was  ashamed,  yea,  even  confounded,  because 
I  did  bear  the  reproach  of  my  youth.  Is  Ephraim  my 
dear  son  ?  is  he  a  pleasant  child  ?  for  since  I  spake 
against  him,  I  do  earnestly  remember  him  still :  there- 
fore my  bowels  are  troubled  for  him  :  I  will  surely  have 
mercy  upon  him,  saith  the  LORD. 

IN  these  words  the  mourning  language  of  a  penitent 
child,  sensible  of  ingratitude,  and  at  once  desirous  and 
ashamed  to  return,  and  the  tender  language  of  a  compas- 
sionate father,  at  once  chastising,  pitying,  and  pardoning, 
are  sweetly  blended:  and  the  images  are  so  lively  and 
moving,  that  if  they  were  regarded  only  as  poetical  descrip- 
tions founded  upon  fiction,  they  would  be  irresistibly  strik- 
ing. But  when  we  consider  them  as  the  most  important 
realities,  as  descriptive  of  that  ingenuous  repentance  which 
we  must  all  feel,  and  of  that  gracious  acceptance  we  must  all 
obtain  from  God  before  we  can  be  happy,  what  almighty  en- 
ergy should  they  have  upon  us !  how  may  our  hearts  dissolve 
within  us  at  the  sound  of  such  pathetic  complaints,  and 


TO    MOURNING    PENITENTS.  355 

such  gracious  encouragements  !  Hard  indeed  is  that  heart 
that  can  hear  these  penitential  strains  without  being  melted 
into  the  like  tender  relentings ;  and  inveterate  is  that 
melancholy,  incurable  is  that  despondency,  that  can  listen 
to  such  expressions  of  fatherly  compassion  and  love,  with- 
out being  cheered  and  animated. 

This  whole  chapter  had  a  primary  reference  to  the 
Jews,  and  such  of  the  Israelites  as  might  mingle  with  them 
in  their  return  from  the  Babylonian  captivity.  As  they 
were  enslaved  to  foreigners,  and  removed  from  their  native 
land  for  their  sins,  so  they  could  not  be  restored  but  upon 
their  repentance.  Upon  this  condition  only  a  resto- 
ration was  promised  them.  Lev.  xxvi.  40-43;  Deut. 
xxx.  1-16. 

In  this  chapter  we  have  a  prediction  of  their  repentance 
under  the  heavy  chastisement  of  seventy  years'  captivity, 
and  of  their  return  thereupon  to  their  own  land.  In  the 
text  the  whole  body  of  penitents  among  them  is  called  by 
the  name  of  a  single  person,  Ephraim.  In  the  prophetic 
writings,  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes,  as  distinguished 
from  that  of  Judah,  is  frequently  denominated  by  this  name, 
because  the  Ephraimites  were  a  principal  family  among 
them.  And  sometimes,  as  here,  the  name  is  given  to  the 
Jews,  probably  on  account  of  the  great  number  of  Ephraim- 
ites mingled  with  them,  especially  on  their  return  from 
captivity.  All  the  penitent  Jews  are  included  under  this 
single  name,  to  intimate  their  unanimity  in  their  repent- 
ance ;  their  hearts  consented,  like  the  heart  of  one  man,  to 
turn  to  the  Lord,  from  whom  with  horrid  unanimity  they 
had  revolted.  This  single  name  Ephraim  also  renders  this 
passage  more  easily  applicable  to  particular  penitents  in  all 
ages.  Every  one  of  such  may  insert  his  own  name,  instead 
of  that  of  Ephraim,  and  claim  the  encouragement  originally 
given  to  them.  And  indeed  this  whole  passage  is  appli- 


358  THE    DIVINE    MERCY 

And  where  shall  we  find  him  ?  And  what  is  he  doing '? 
We  shall  not  find  him,  as  usual  in  a  thoughtless  hurry 
about  earthly  things,  confining  all  his  attention  to  these 
trifles,  and  unmindful  of  the  important  concerns  of  eter- 
nity. We  shall  not  find  him  merry,  inconsiderate,  and 
vain,  in  a  circle  of  jovial,  careless  companions;  much 
less  shall  we  find  him  intrepid  and  secure  in  a  course  of 
sin,  gratifying  his  flesh,  and  indulging  his  lusts.  In  this 
enchanted  road  the  crowd  of  hardy  impenitents  pass 
secure  and  cheerful  down  to  the  chambers  of  death,  but 
the  awakened  sinner  flies  from  it  with  horror ;  or,  if  his 
depraved  heart  would  tempt  him  to  walk  in  it,  he  cannot 
take  many  steps  before  he  is  shocked  with  the  horrid  ap- 
parition of  impending  danger.  He  finds  the  flattering  paths 
of  sin  haunted  with  the  terrible  spectres  of  guilt ;  and 
the  sword  of  divine  vengeance  gleams  bright  and  dread- 
ful before  him,  and  seems  lifted  to  give  the  fatal  blow. 
You  will,  therefore,  find  the  awakened  sinner  solitary  and 
solemn  in  some  retired  corner,  not  deceiving  himself  with 
vain  hopes  of  safety  in  his  present  state,  but  alarmed  with 
apprehensions  of  danger:  not  planning  schemes  for  his 
secular  advantage,  nor  asking,  with  sordid  anxiety,  "  Who 
will  show  me  any  temporal  good  ?"  but  solicitous  about 
his  perishing  soul,  and  anxiously  inquiring,  What  shall  I  do 
to  be  saved  ?  He  is  not  congratulating  himself  upon  the 
imaginary  goodness  of  his  heart  or  life,  or  priding  himself 
with  secret  wonder  in  a  rich  conceit  of  his  excellencies ; 
but  you  will  hear  him,  in  his  sorrowful  retirement,  be- 
moaning, or  (as  the  original  signifies)  condoling  himself. 
He  sees  his  case  to  be  really  awful  and  sad,  and  he,  as  it 
were,  takes  up  a  lamentation  over  himself.  He  is  no  more 
senseless,  hard-hearted,  and  self-applauding,  as  he  was  wont 
to  be :  but,  like  a  mourning  turtle,  he  bewails  himself  in 
such  tragical  strains  as  these :  "  Unhappy  creature  that  I 


TO    MOURNING    PENITENTS.  359 

am !  into  what  a  deplorable  state  have  I  brought  myself! 
and  how  long  have  I  continued  in  it,  with  the  insensibility 
of  a  rock  and  the  stupidity  of  a  brute  ?  Now  I  may  mourn 
over  my  past  neglected  and  unimproved  days,  as  so  many 
deceased  friends,  sent  indeed  from  heaven  to  do  me  good, 
but  cruelly  killed  by  my  ungrateful  neglect  and  continued 
delays  as  to  return  to  God  and  holiness.  Fly  back,  ye 
abused  months  and  years;  arise  from  the  dead;  restore 
me  your  precious  moments  again,  that  I  may  unravel  the 
web  of  life,  and  form  it  anew ;  and  that  I  may  improve 
the  opportunities  I  have  squandered  away.  Vain  and  des- 
perate wish !  the  wheels  of  time  will  not  return,  and  what 
shall  I  do?  Here  I  am,  a  guilty,  obnoxious  creature,  un- 
certain of  life  and  unfit  to  die;  alienated  from  God,  and 
incapable  (alas !  I  may  add  unwilling  to  return)  a  slave  to 
sin,  and  too  feeble  to  break  the  fetters  of  inveterate  habits ; 
liable  to  the  arrest  of  divine  justice,  and  unable  to  deliver 
myself;  exposed  to  the  vengeance  of  heaven,  yet  can  make 
no  atonement;  destitute  of  an  interest  in  Christ,  and  un- 
certain, awfully  uncertain,  whether  I  shall  ever  obtain  it. 
Unhappy  creatures !  How  justly  may  I  take  up  a  lamen- 
tation over  myself!  Pity  me,  ye  brute  creation,  that  know 
not  to  sin,  and  therefore  cannot  know  the  misery  of  my 
case ;  and  have  pity  upon  me,  have  pity  upon  me,  O  ye 
my  friends  !  and  if  these  guilty  lips  may  dare  to  pronounce 
thy  injured  name,  O  thou  God  of  grace,  have  pity  upon 
me !  But,  alas !  I.  deserve  no  pity,  for  how  long  have  I 
denied  it  to  myself!  Ah,  infatuated  wretch  !  why  did  not 
I  sooner  begin  to  secure  my  unhappy  soul,  that  has  lain 
all  this  time  neglected,  and  unpitied,  upon  the  brink  of 
ruin  !  Why  did  I  not  sooner  lay  my  condition  to  heart  ? 
Alas !  I  should  have  gone  on  thoughtless  still,  had  I  not 
been  awakened  by  the  kind  severity,  the  gracious  chastise- 
ments of  my  dishonoured  Father !" 


360  THE    DIVINE    MERCY 

Thou  hast  chastised  me.  This,  as  spoken  by  Ephraim, 
had  a  particular  reference  to  the  Babylonish  captivity; 
but  we  may  naturally  take  occasion  from  it  to  speak  of 
those  calamities  in  general,  whether  outward  or  inward, 
that  are  made  the  means  of  alarming  the  secure  sinner. 

There  are  many  ways  which  our  heavenly  Father  takes 
to  correct  his  undutiful  children  until  they  return  to  him. 
Sometimes  he  kindly  takes  away  their  health,  the  abused 
occasion  of  their  wantonness  and  security,  and  restrains 
them  from  their  lusts  with  fetters  of  affliction.  This  is 
beautifully  described  by  Elihu.  "  He  is  chastened  with 
pain  upon  his  bed,  and  the  multitude  of  his  bones  with 
strong  pain ;  so  that  his  life  abhorreth  bread,  and  his  soul 
dainty  meat.  His  flesh  is  consumed  away,  that  it  cannot 
be  seen;  and  his  bones,  that  were  not  seen,  stick  out. 
Yea,  his  soul  draweth  near  unto  the  grave,  and  his  life 
unto  the  destroyers.  If  there  be  a  messenger  with  him, 
an  interpreter,  one  among  a  thousand,  to  show  unto  man 
his  uprightness ;  then  he  is  gracious  unto  him,  and  saith, 
Deliver  him  from  going  down  to  the  pit : — I  have  found  a 
ransom."  Job  xxxiii.  19,  &c.  Sometimes  God  awakens 
the  sinner  to  bethink  himself,  by  stripping  him  of  his 
earthly  supports  and  comforts,  his  estate,  or  his  relatives, 
which  drew  away  his  heart  from  eternal  things,  and  thus 
brings  him  to  see  the  necessity  of  turning  to  God,  the 
fountain  of  bliss,  upon  the  failure  of  the  streams.  Thus 
he  dealt  with  profligate  Manasseh.  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  11,  12. 
He  was  taken  in  "  thorns,  and  bound  in  fetters,  and  carried 
to  Babylon ;  and  when  he  was  in  affliction  he  sought  the 
Lord,  and  humbled  himself  greatly  before  him,  and  prayed 
unto  him,"  &c.  Thus  also  God  promises  to  do  with  his 
chosen:  "I  will  cause  you  to  pass  under  the  rod,  and 
I  will  bring  you  into  the  bond  of  my  covenant."  Ezek. 
xx.  37;  Psl.  Ixxxix.  32;  Prov.  xxii.  15,  xxix.  15. 


TO   MOURNING    PENITENTS.  361 

But  the  principal  means  of  correction  which  God  uses 
for  the  end  of  return  to  him  is  that  of  conscience;  and 
indeed  without  this,  all  the  rest  are  in  vain.  Outward 
afflictions  are  of  service  only  as  they  tend  to  awaken  the 
conscience  from  its  lethargy  to  a  faithful  discharge  of  its 
trust.  It  is  conscience  that  makes  the  sinner  sensible  of 
his  misery  and  scourges  him  till  he  return  to  his  duty. 
This  is  a  chastisement  the  most  severe  that  human  nature 
can  endure.  The  lashes  of  a  guilty  conscience  are  into- 
lerable ;  and  some  under  them  have  chosen  strangling  and 
death  rather  than  life.  The  spirit  of  a  man  may  bear  him 
up  under  outward  infirmities ;  but  when  the  spirit  itself  is 
wounded,  who  can  bear  it?  Prov.  xviii.  14.  Conscience 
is  a  serpent  in  his  breast,  which  bites  and  gnaws  his  heart ; 
and  he  can  no  more  avoid  it,  than  he  can  fly  from  himself. 
Its  force  is  so  great  and  universal  that  even  the  heathen 
poet  Juvenal,  not  famous  for  the  delicacy  of  his  morals, 
taught  by  experience,  could  speak  feelingly  of  its  secret 
blows,  and  of  agonizing  sweats  under  its  tortures.* 

Let  not  such  of  you  as  have  never  been  tortured  with 
its  remorse,  congratulate  yourselves  upon  your  happiness, 
for  you  are  not  innocents ;  and  therefore  conscience  will 
not  always  sleep ;  it  will  not  always  lie  torpid  and  inactive, 
like  a  snake  benumbed  with  cold,  in  your  breast.  It  will 
awaken  you  either  to  your  conversion  or  condemnation. 
Either  the  fire  of  God's  wrath  flaming  from  his  law  will 
enliven  it  in  this  world  to  sting  you  with  medicinal  an- 
guish ;  or  the  unquenchable  fire  of  his  vengeance  in  the 

* Frigida  tnens  est 

Criminibus,  tacita  sudant  prax?ordia  culpa. 

JCTTKN.  Sat.  I. 

Cur  tamen  hos  tu 

Erasisse  putes,  quos  diri  conscia  facti 
Men?  habet  attonitos,  et  surdo  verbere  csedit, 
Occultum  quatiente  animo  tortore  flagellum  ; 

Id.  Sat.  XIII. 
Vox..  I.— 46 


362  THE   DIVINE    MERCY 

lake  of  fire  and  brimstone  will  thaw  it  into  life,  and  then 
it  will  horribly  rage  in  your  breast,  and  diffuse  its  torment- 
ing poison  through  your  whole  frame :  and  then  it  will  be- 
come a  never-dying  worm,  and  prey  upon  your  hearts  for 
ever.  But  if  you  now  suffer  it  to  pain  you  with  salutary 
remorse,  and  awaken  you  to  a  tender  sensibility  of  your 
danger,  this  intestine  enemy  will  in  the  end  become  your 
bosom  friend,  will  support  you  under  every  calamity,  and 
be  your  faithful  companion  and  guardian  through  the  most 
dangerous  paths  of  life.  Therefore  now  submit  to  its 
wholesome  severities,  now  yield  to  its  chastisements.  Such 
of  you  as  have  submitted  to  its  authority,  and  obeyed  its 
faithful  admonitions,  find  it  your  best  friend :  and  you  may 
bless  the  day  in  which  you  complied  with  its  demands, 
though  before  divine  grace  renewed  your  heart,  your  wills 
were  stubborn  and  reluctant;  and  you  might  say  with 
Ephraim : 

I  was  chastised,  as  a  bullock  unaccustomed  to  the  yoke  ;  that 
is,  "  As  a  wild  young  ox,  unbroken  from  the  herd,  is  unman- 
ageable, refuses  the  yoke,  becomes  outrageous  at  the  whip  or 
goad,  and  wearies  himself  in  ineffectual  struggles  to  throw 
off  the  burden  clapt  upon  him,  and  regain  his  savage  liberty, 
and  never  will  submit  until  wearied  out,  and  unable  to  re- 
sist any  longer ;  so  has  my  stubborn  heart,  unaccustomed 
to  obey,  refused  the  yoke  of  thy  law,  O  my  God,  and 
struggled  with  sullen  obstinacy  under  thy  chastisements. 
Instead  of  calmly  submitting  to  thy  rod,  and  immediately 
reforming  under  correction,  instead  of  turning  to  thee,  and 
flying  to  thy  arms  to  avoid  the  falling  blow,  I  was  unyield- 
ing and  outrageous,  like  a  wild  butt  in  a  net.  Isa.  li.  20. 
I  wearied  myself  in  desperate  struggles  to  free  myself  from 
thy  chastising  hand ;  or  vainly  tried  to  harden  myself  to 
bear  it  with  obdurate  insensibility.  I  tried  to  break  the 
rod  of  conscience  that  I  might  no  more  groan  under  its 


TO    MOURNING    PENITENTS.  363 

lashes,  and  my  heart  reluctated  and  rebelled  against  the 
gracious  design  of  thy  correction,  which  was  to  bring  me 
back  to  thee  my  heavenly  Father.  But  now  I  am  wea- 
ried out,  now  I  am  sensible  I  must  submit,  or  perish,  and 
that  my  conscience  is  too  strong  for  me,  and  must  pre- 
vail." 

You  see,  my  brethren,  the  obstinate  reluctance  of  an 
awakened  sinner  to  return  to  God.  Like  a  wild  young 
bullock,  he  would  range  at  large,  and  is  impatient  of  the 
yoke  of  the  law,  and  the  restraints  of  conscience.  He 
loves  his  sin  and  cannot  bear  to  part  with  it.  He  has  no 
relish  for  the  exercises  of  devotion  and  ascetic  mortifica- 
tion ;  and  therefore  will  not  submit  to  them.  The  way 
of  holiness  is  disagreeable  to  his  depraved  heart,  and  he 
will  not  turn  his  feet  to  it.  He  loves  to  be  stupidly  easy, 
and  serene  in  mind,  and  cannot  bear  to  be  checked  in  his 
pursuit  of  business  or  pleasure  by  anxieties  of  heart,  and 
therefore  he  is  impatient  of  the  honest  warnings  of  his 
conscience,  and  uses  a  variety  of  wretched  expedients  to 
silence  its  clamorous  remonstrances.  In  short,  he  will  do 
any  thing,  he  will  turn  to  any  thing  rather  than  turn  to 
God.  If  his  conscience  will  be  but  satisfied,  he  will  for- 
sake many  of  his  sins :  he  will,  like  Herod,  Mark  vi.  20, 
do  many  things,  and  walk  in  the  whole  round  of  outward 
duties.  All  this  he  will  do,  if  his  conscience  will  be  but 
bribed  by  it.  But  if  conscience  enlarges  its  demands,  and, 
after  he  has  reformed  his  life,  requires  him  to  make  him  a 
new  heart,  requires  him  to  turn  not  only  from  the  outward 
practice  of  gross  vices,  but  from  the  love  of  all  sins ;  not 
only  to  turn  to  the  observance  of  religious  duties,  but  to 
turn  to  the  Lord  with  all  his  heart,  and  surrender  himself 
entirely  to  him,  and  make  it  the  main  business  of  life  to 
serve  him ;  if  conscience,  I  say,  carries  its  demands  thus 
far,  he  cannot  bear  it,  he  struggles  to  throw  off  the  yoke. 


364  THE    DIVINE    MERCY 

And  some  are  cursed  with  horrid  success  in  the  attempt : 
they  are  permitted  to  rest  content  in  a  partial  reformation, 
or  external  religion,  as  sufficient,  and  so  go  down  to  the 
grave  with  a  lie  in  their  right  hand.  But  the  happy  soul, 
on  whom  divine  grace  is  determined  to  finish  its  work  in 
spite  of  all  opposition,  is  suffered  to  weary  itself  out  in 
a  vain  resistance  of  the  chastisements  of  conscience,  till  it 
is  obliged  to  yield,  and  submit  to  the  yoke.  And  then 
with  Ephraim  it  will  cry : 

Turn  thou  me,  and  I  shall  be  turned.  This  is  the 
mourning  sinner's  language,  when  convinced  that  he  must 
submit  and  turn  to  God,  and  in  the  meantime  finds  him- 
self utterly  unable  to  turn.  Many  essays  he  makes  to 
give  himself  to  the  Lord;  but  oh!  his  heart  starts  back 
and  shrinks  away  as  though  he  were  rushing  into  flames, 
when  he  is  but  flying  to  the  gracious  embraces  of  his 
Father.  He  strives,  and  strives  to  drag  it  along,  but  all 
in  vain.  And  what  shall  he  do  in  this  extremity,  but  cry, 
"Lord,  turn  thou  me,  and  I  shall  be  turned;  draw  me, 
and  I  shall  run  after  thee.  Work  in  me  to  will  and  to  do, 
and  then  I  shall  work  out  my  own  salvation."  Lord, 
though  I  am  sensible  of  the  necessity  of  turning  to  thee, 
though  I  exert  my  feeble  strength  in  many  a  languid  effort, 
to  come,  yet  I  cannot  so  much  as  creep  towards  thee, 
though  I  should  die  on  the  spot.  Not  only  thy  word,  but 
my  own  experience  now  convinces  me  that  I  cannot  come 
unto  thee,  unless  thou  draw  me.  John  vi.  44.  Others 
vainly  boast  of  their  imaginary  power,  as  though,  when 
they  set  themselves  about  it,  they  could  perform  some 
great  achievements.  Thus  I  once  flattered  myself,  but  now, 
when  I  am  most  capable  of  judging,  that  is,  when  I  come 
to  the  trial,  all  my  boasts  are  humbled.  Here  I  lie,  a 
helpless  creature,  unable  to  go  to  the  physician,  unable  to 
accept  of  pardon  and  life  on  the  easy  terms  of  the  gospel, 


TO    MOURNING    PENITENTS.  365 

and  unable  to  free  myself  from  the  bondage  of  sin;  and 
thus  I  must  lie  for  ever,  unless  that  God,  from  whom  I 
have  revolted,  draws  me  back  to  himself.  Turn  me,  oh 
thou  that  hast  the  hearts  of  all  men  in  thy  hands,  and  canst 
turn  them  whithersoever  thou  pleasest,  turn  me  ;  and  then 
weak,  and  reluctant  as  I  am,  I  shall  be  turned ;  this  back- 
ward heart  will  yield  to  the  almighty  attraction  of  thy 
grace. 

"  Here  am  I  as  passive  clay  in  the  hand  of  the  potter ; 
incapable  to  fashion  myself  into  a  vessel  fit  for  thy  house ; 
but  thou  canst  form  me  as  thou  pleasest.  This  hard  and 
stubborn  heart  will  be  ductile  and  pliable  to  thine  irresist- 
ible power."  Thus  you  see  the  awakened  sinner  is  driven 
to  earnest  prayer  in  his  exigence.  Never  did  a  drowning 
man  call  for  help,  or  a  condemned  malefactor  plead  for 
pardon  with  more  sincerity  and  ardour.  If  the  sinner  had 
neglected  prayer  all  his  life  before  now,  he  flies  to  it  as 
the  only  expedient  left,  or  if  he  formerly  ran  it  over  in  a 
careless,  unthinking  manner,  as  an  insignificant  form,  now 
he  exerts  all  the  importunity  of  his  soul ;  now  he  prays  as 
for  his  life,  and  cannot  rest  till  his  desires  are  answered. 

The  sinner  ventures  to  enforce  his  petition  by  pleading 
his  relation  to  God  ;  "  Turn  me, — for  thou  art  the  Lord 
my  God."  There  is  a  sense  in  which  a  sinner  in  his  un- 
regenerate  state  cannot  call  God  his  God ;  that  is,  he  can- 
not claim  a  special  interest  in  him  as  his  portion,  nor  cry 
"  Abba,  Father,"  with  the  spirit  of  adoption,  as  reconciled 
to  God.  But  even  an  unregenerate  sinner  may  call  him 
my  God  in  other  senses ;  he  is  his  God  by  right,  that  is, 
though  he  has  idolatrously  yielded  himself  to  other  gods, 
yet  by  right  he  should  have  acknowledged  him  only.  He 
is  his  God,  as  that  name  denotes  authority  and  power,  to 
which  he  should  be  subject :  his  God,  as  he  would  now 
choose  him  to  be  his  God,  his  portion,  and  his  all,  which 


THE    DIVINE   MERCY 

is  implied  in  turning  to  him ;  he  is  his  God  by  anticipa- 
tion and  hope,  as  upon  his  turning  to  him  he  will  become 
his  reconciled  God  in  covenant ;  and  he  is  his  God  by 
outward  profession  and  visible  relation.  The  force  of  this 
argument,  to  urge  his  petition  for  converting  grace,  may 
be  viewed  in  various  lights. 

It  may  be  understood  thus :  "  Turn  thou  me,  for  thou 
only  who  art  the  Lord  of  the  universe,  and  hast  all  the 
creation  at  thy  control ;  thou  only,  who  art  my  God  and 
ruler,  and  in  whose  hand  my  heart  is,  art  able  to  turn  so 
obstinate  a  creature.  In  vain  do  I  seek  for  help  else- 
where. Not  all  the  means  upon  earth,  not  all  the  persua- 
sions, exhortations,  invitations,  and  terrors  that  can  be 
used  with  me,  can  turn  this  heart ;  it  is  a  work  becoming 
the  Lord  God  Almighty,  and  it  is  thou  alone  canst  effect 
it." 

Or  we  may  understand  the  plea  thus  :  "  Turn  thou  me, 
and  I  shall  turn  to  thee ;  to  thee  who  art  the  Lord  my 
God,  and  to  whom  I  am  under  the  most  sacred  obligations 
to  return.  I  would  resign  thine  own  right  to  thee ;  I  would 
submit  to  thee  who  alone  hast  a  just  claim  to  me  as  thy 
servant." 

Or  the  words  may  be  understood  as  an  abjuration  of 
all  the  idol-lusts  to  which  the  sinner  was  enslaved  before, 
"  I  will  turn  to  thee ;  for  to  whom  should  I  turn  but  to 
the  Lord  my  God :  "  What  have  I  to  do  any  more  with 
idols  ?"  Hosea  xiv.  8.  "  Why  should  I  any  longer  submit 
to  other  lords,  who  have  no  right  to  me  ?  I  would  re- 
nounce them  all;  I  would  throw  off  all  subjection  to 
them,  and  avouch  thee  alone  for  the  Lord  my  God." 
Thus  have  the  Jews  renounced  their  false  gods  upon  their 
return  from  Babylon. 

Or  we  may  understand  the  words  as  an  encouragement 
to  hope  for  converting  grace,  since  it  is  asked  from  a  God 


TO    MOURNING    PENITENTS.  367 

of  infinite  power  and  goodness.  "  Though  I  have  most 
grievously  offended,  and  had  I  done  the  thousandth  part 
so  much  against  my  fellow  creatures,  I  could  never  expect 
a  favourable  admission  into  their  presence ;  yet  I  dare  ask 
so  great  a  favour  of  thee,  for  thou  art  God,  and  not  man : 
thy  power  and  thy  grace  are  all  divine,  such  as  become  a 
God.  I  therefore  dare  to  hope  for  that  from  thy  hands, 
which  I  might  despair  of  from  all  the  universe  of  beings 
besides." 

Or  finally,  the  passage  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  plea 
drawn  from  the  sinner's  external  relation  to  God,  as  a 
member  of  his  visible  church,  and  as  dedicated  to  him. 
"  Turn  me,  and  I  will  turn  to  thee,  whose  name  I  bear,  and 
to  whom  I  have  been  early  devoted.  I  would  now  of 
my  own  choice  acknowledge  the  God  of  my  fathers,  and 
return  to  the  guide  of  my  youth.  And,  since  thou  hast 
honoured  me  with  a  place  in  thy  visible  church,  I  humbly 
hope  thou  wilt  not  reject  me  now,  when  I  would  sincerely 
consecrate  myself  to  thee,  and  become  thy  servant  in 
reality,  as  well  as  in  appearance."  In  this  sense  the  plea 
might  be  used  with  peculiar  propriety  by  the  Jews,  who 
had  been  nationally  adopted  as  the  peculiar  people  of  God. 

In  whatever  sense  we  understand  the  words,  they  con- 
vey to  us  this  important  truth,  that  the  awakened  sinner 
is  obliged  to  take  all  his  encouragement  from  God,  and 
not  from  himself.  All  his  trust  is  in  the  divine  mercy, 
and  he  is  brought  to  a  happy  self-despair. 

Having  viewed  Ephraim  under  the  preparatory  work  of 
legal  conviction,  and  the  dawn  of  evangelical  repentance, 
let  us  view  him, 

II.  As  reflecting  upon  the  suprising  efficacy  of  grace  he 
had  sought,  and  which  was  bestowed  upon  him  in  answer 
to  his  prayer. 

We  left  him  just  now  crying,  Turn  thou  me,  and  I  shall 


368  THE    DIVINE    MERCY 

be  turned;  here  we  find  him  actually  turned.  Surely 
after  that  I  was  turned,  I  repented.  When  the  Lord  ex- 
erts his  power  to  subdue  the  stubbornness  of  the  sinner, 
and  sweetly  to  allure  him  to  himself,  then  the  sinner  re- 
pents ;  then  his  heart  dissolves  in  ingenuous,  disinterested 
relentings.  His  sorrow  and  concern  before  conversion 
are  forced  and  mercenary ;  they  are  occasioned  only  by  a 
selfish  fear  of  punishment,  and  he  would  willingly  get  rid 
of  them,  but  now  his  grief  is  free  and  spontaneous ;  it  flows 
from  his  heart  as  freely  as  streams  from  a  fountain ;  and 
he  takes  pleasure  in  tender  relentings  before  the  Lord  for 
his  sin ;  he  delights  to  be  humble,  and  to  feel  his  heart 
dissolve  within  him.  A  heart  of  flesh,  soft  and  susceptive 
of  impression,  is  his  choice,  and  a  stony,  insensible  heart  a 
great  burden ;  the  more  penitent  the  more  happy,  and  the 
more  senseless,  the  more  miserable  he  finds  himself.  Now 
also  his  heart  is  actuated  with  a  generous  concern  for  the 
glory  of  God;  and  he  sees  the  horrid  evil  of  sin  as  con- 
trary to  the  holiness  of  God,  and  an  ungrateful  requital  of 
his  uninterrupted  beneficence. 

We  learn  from  this  passage,  that  the  true  penitent  is 
sensible  of  a  mighty  turn  in  his  temper  and  inclinations. 
Surely  after  that  I  was  turned,  I  repented.  His  whole 
soul  is  turned  from  what  he  formerly  delighted  in,  and 
turned  to  what  he  had  no  relish  for  before.  Particularly 
his  thoughts,  his  will,  and  affections  are  turned  to  God ; 
there  is  a  heavenly  bias  communicated  to  them  which 
draws  them  to  holiness,  like  the  law  of  gravitation  in  the 
material  world.  There  is  indeed  a  new  turn  given  to  his 
outward  practice;  the  world  may  in  some  measure  see 
that  he  is  a  new  man ;  but  this  is  not  all ;  the  first  spring 
that  turns  all  the  wheels  of  the  soul  and  actions  of  life  is 
the  heart,  and  this  is  first  set  right.  The  change  within 
is  as  evident  as  that  without,  could  our  eyes  penetrate  the 


TO    MOURNING    PENITENTS.  369 

heart.  In  short,  If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  through- 
out a  new  creature  ;  old  things  are  passed  away,  and  be- 
hold, all  things  are  become  new. 

Apply  this  touchstone  to  your  hearts,  my  brethren,  and 
see  if  they  will  stand  the  test. 

The  penitent  proceeds,  After  that  I  was  instructed,  I 
smote  upon  my  thigh.  The  same  grace  that  turns  him 
does  also  instruct  him ;  nay,  it  is  by  discovering  to  him 
the  beauty  of  holiness,  and  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face 
of  Jesus  Christ,  that  it  draws  him.  He  is  brought  out  of 
darkness  into  marvellous  and  astonishing  light,  that  sur- 
prises him  with  new  discoveries  of  things :  he  is  instructed 
particularly,  as  to  the  necessity  of  turning  to  God,  as  to 
the  horrid  ingratitude,  vileness,  and  deformity  of  sin,  and 
as  to  his  folly  and  wickedness  in  continuing  so  long  alien- 
ated from  God.  By  the  way,  have  you  ever  been  let  into 
these  secrets,  my  hearers  ?  And  when  instructed  in  these, 

"  He  smites  upon  his  thigh."  This  gesture  denotes 
consternation  and  amazement;  and  nature  directs  us  thus 
to  express  these  passions.  Ezekiel  is  enjoined  to  use  this 
gesture  as  a  prophetic  action,  signifying  the  horror  and  as- 
tonishment of  his  mind.  Ezek.  xxi.  12.  This  action,  there- 
fore, of  the  penitent,  intimates  what  consternation  and 
amazement  he  is  cast  into,  when  these  new  discoveries 
flash  upon  his  soul.  He  stands  amazed  at  himself.  He 
is  struck  with  horror  to  think  what  an  ungrateful,  ignorant, 
stupid  wretch  he  has  been  all  his  life  till  this  happy  mo- 
ment. "  Alas !  what  have  I  been  doing  ?  abusing  all  my 
days  in  ruining  my  own  soul,  and  dishonouring  the  God 
of  all  my  mercies !  contentedly  estranged  from  him,  and 
not  seeking  to  return  !  Where  were  my  eyes,  that  I  never 
before  saw  the  horrid  evil  of  my  conduct  and  the  shocking 
deformity  of  sin,  which  now  opens  to  me  in  all  its  hideous 
colours !  Amazing !  that  divine  vengeance  has  not  broken 

VOL.  L—  47 


370  THE    DIVINE    MERCY 

out  upon  me  before  now?  Can  it  be  that  I  am  yet  alive ! 
in  the  land  of  hope  too !  yea,  alive,  an  humble  pardoned 
penitent !  Let  heaven  and  earth  wonder  at  this,  for  surely 
the  sun  never  shone  upon  a  wretch  so  undeserving !  so 
great  a  monument  of  mercy !" 

The  pardoned  penitent  proceeds — I  was  ashamed,  yea, 
even  confounded,  because  I  did  bear  the  reproach  of  my 
youth.  We  are  ashamed  when  we  are  caught  in  a  mean, 
base  and  scandalous  action ;  we  blush,  and  are  confounded, 
and  know  not  where  to  look,  or  what  to  say.  Thus  the 
penitent  is  heartily  ashamed  of  himself,  when  he  reflects 
upon  the  sordid  dispositions  he  has  indulged,  and  the  base 
and  scandalous  actions  he  has  committed.  He  blushes  at 
his  own  inspection ;  he  is  confounded  at  his  own  tribunal. 
He  appears  to  himself,  a  mean,  base,  contemptible  wretch ; 
and,  though  the  world  may  honour  him,  he  loaths  himself, 
as  viler  than  the  earth  he  treads  on ;  and  is  secretly  ashamed 
to  see  the  face  of  man.  And  how  then  shall  he  appear 
before  God  1  how  shall  he  hold  up  his  face  in  the  presence 
of  his  injured  Father  ?  He  comes  to  him  ashamed,  and 
covering  his  head.  He  .knows  not  what  to  say  to  him; 
he  knows  not  how  to  look  him  in  the  face,  but  he  falls 
down  abashed  and  confounded  at  his  feet.  Thus  was  peni- 
tent Ezra  ashamed  before  God.  He  fell  upon  his  knees, 
and  lifted  up  his  hands  (his  eyes,  like  the  publican,  he 
durst  not  lift  up)  unto  the  heavens,  and  he  says,  0  my  God, 
I  am  ashamed,  and  blush  to  lift  up  my  face  to  thee,  my 
God  !  for  our  iniquities  are  increased  over  our  heads,  and 
our  trespass  is  grown  up  unto  the  heavens.  And  now,  0 
our  God,  what  shall  we  say  after  this  ?  for  we  have  for- 
saken thy  commandments.  Ezra  ix.  5-10.  Thus  it  was 
foretold  concerning  the  repenting  Jews.  Then  thou  shalt 
remember  thy  ways  and  be  ashamed.  Thou  shalt  be  con- 
founded and  never  open  thy  mouth  any  more,  because  of 


TO    MOURNING    PENITENTS.  371 

thy  shame.  Ezek.  xvi.  61-63.  There  is  good  reason  for 
this  conscious  shame,  and  therefore  it  is  enjoined  as  a  duty : 
Not  for  your  sakes  do  I  this,  saith  the  Lord  God,  be  it 
known  unto  you :  be  ashamed  and  confounded  for  your 
own  ways,  0  house  of  Israel.  Ezek.  xxxvi.  32. 

And  what  is  the  cause  of  this  shame  in  the  mourning 
penitent?  Oh,  says  he,  it  is  because  I  bear  the  reproach 
of  my  youth.  "  I  carry  upon  me  (as  the  original  word 
signifies)  the  brand  of  infamy.  My  youth,  alas !  was 
spent  in  a  thoughtless  neglect  of  God  and  the  duties  I 
owed  him ;  my  vigorous  days  were  wasted  in  sensual  ex- 
travagances, and  gratifying  my  criminal  inclinations.  My 
prime  of  life,  which  should  have  been  sacred  to  the  author 
of  my  existence,  was  spent  in  rebellion  against  him.  Alas ! 
my  first  thoughts,  my  virgin  love,  did  not  aspire  to  him ; 
nor  did  my  young  desires,  as  soon  as  fledged,  wing  their 
flight  to  heaven.  In  short,  the  temper  of  my  heart,  and 
my  course  of  my  life,  from  the  first  exercises  of  reason  to 
this  happy  hour  of  my  conversion,  were  a  disgrace  to  my 
rational  nature ;  I  have  degraded  myself  beneath  the  beasts 
that  perish."  Behold,  I  am  vile  ;  I  loath  and  abhor  my- 
self for  all  my  pithiness  and  abominations.  Ezek.  xxxvi. 
31.  "And  how  amazing  the  grace  of  God  to  honour  so 
base  a  wretch  with  a  place  among  the  children  of  his 
love !" 

Thus  I  have  delineated  the  heart  of  penitent  Ephraim ; 
and  let  me  ask  you,  my  brethren,  is  this  your  picture? 
Have  you  ever  felt  such  ingenuous  relentings,  such  just 
consternation,  such  holy  shame  and  confusion?  There 
can  be  no  transition  from  nature  to  grace,  without  previous 
concern,  &c.  You  all  bear  the  reproach  of  that  youth, 
you  have  all  spent  some  unhappy  days  in  the  scandalous 
ways  of  sin,  and  your  consciences  still  bear  the  brand  of 
infamy.  And  have  you  ever  been  made  deeply  sensible 


372  THE    DIVINE   MERCY 

of  it?  Has  God  ever  heard  you  bemoaning  yourselves 
thus  in  some  mournful  solitude,  "  Thou  hast  chastised  me, 
and  I  was  chastised,  as  a  bullock  unaccustomed  to  the 
yoke."  Is  there  any  such  mourner  here  this  day?  then 
listen  to  the  gracious  voice  of  your  heavenly  Father, 
while, 

III.  I  am  illustrating  the  last,  the  sweetest  part  of  the 
text,  which  expresses  the  tender  compassion  of  God  to- 
wards mourning  penitents. 

While  they  are  bemoaning  their  case,  and  conscious  that 
they  do  not  deserve  one  look  of  love  from  God,  he  is  re- 
presented as  attentively  listening  to  catch  the  first  pentiten- 
tial  groan  that  breaks  from  their  hearts.  Ephraim,  in  the 
depth  of  his  despondency,  probably  did  hardly  hope  that 
God  took  any  notice  of  his  secret  sorrows,  which  he  sup- 
pressed as  much  as  possible  from  the  public  view :  but 
God  heard  him,  God  was  watching  to  hear  the  first  mourn- 
ful cry ;  and  he  repeats  all  his  complaints,  to  let  him  know 
(after  the  manner  of  men)  what  particular  notice  he  had 
taken  of  them.  "  /  have  surely  heard,  or  hearing  I  have 
heard :"  that  is,  "  I  have  attentively  heard  Ephraim  be- 
moaning himself  thus." 

What  strong  consolation  may  this  give  to  desponding 
mourners,  who  think  themselves  neglected  by  that  God  to 
whom  they  are  pouring  out  their  weeping  supplications ! 
He  hears  your  secret  groans,  he  courts  your  sighs,  and 
puts  your  tears  into  his  bottle.  His  eyes  penetrate  all  the 
secrets  of  your  heart,  and  he  observes  all  their  feeble  strug- 
gles to  turn  to  himself;  and  he  beholds  you  not  as  an  un- 
concerned spectator,  but  with  all  the  tender  emotions  of 
fatherly  compassion :  for, 

While  he  is  listening  to  Ephraim's  mournful  complaints, 
he  abruptly  breaks  in  upon  him,  and  sweetly  surprises  him 
with  the  warmest  declarations  of  pity  and  grace.  "  Is 


TO    MOURNING    PENITENTS.  373 

this  Ephraim,  my  dear  son,  whose  mourning  voice  I  hear ; 
Is  this  my  pleasant  child,  or  (as  it  might  be  rendered)  the 
child  of  my  delights,  who  thus  wounds  my  ear  with  his 
heart-rending  groans?"  What  strange  language  this  to  an 
ungrateful,  unyielding  rebel,  that  continued  obstinate  till  he 
was  wearied  out ;  that  would  not  turn  till  drawn ;  that  de- 
served to  fall  a  victim  to  justice  !  This  is  the  language  of 
compassion  all  divine,  of  grace  that  becomes  a  God. 

This  passage  contains  a  most  encouraging  truth,  that, 
however  vile  and  abandoned  a  sinner  has  been,  yet  upon 
his  repentance,  he  becomes  God's  dear  son,  his  favourite 
child.  He  will,  from  that  moment,  regard  him,  provide 
for  him,  protect  him,  and  bring  him  to  his  heavenly  inhe- 
ritance, as  his  son  and  heir ;  for  "  Neither  death,  nor  life, 
nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  pre- 
sent, nor  things  to  come,"  &c.  Rom.  viii.  38,  &c.,  shall 
separate  him  from  his  father's  love  but  "  he  shall  inherit 
all  things."  Rev.  xxi.  7.  Yea,  all  things  are  his  already  in 
title,  and  he  shall  be  made  "  greater  than  the  kings  of  the 
earth ;"  he  shall  be  made  such  as  becomes  so  dignified  a 
relation  as  that  of  a  Son  to  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord 
of  lords. 

And  is  not  this  magnet  sufficient  to  attract  all  this  as- 
sembly to  their  Father's  house?  Can  you  resist  the 
almighty  energy  of  such  compassion  ?  Return,  ye  perish- 
ing prodigals  !  Return  j  though  you  have  sinned  against 
Heaven,  and  before  your  Father,  and  are  no  more  worthy 
to  be  catted  his  sons,  yet  return,  and  you  shall  be  made  his 
dear  sons,  his  pleasant  children. 

Are  none  of  you  in  need  of  such  strong  consolation  as 
this?  Do  you  want  encouragement  to  return,  and  are 
you  ready  to  spring  up  and  run  to  your  Father's  arms 
upon  the  first  assurance  of  acceptance  ?  If  this  be  what 
you  want,  you  have  an  abundance  for  your  supply.  Are 


374  THE   DIVINE    MERCY 

all  your  souls  then  in  motion  to  return  ?  Does  that  eye 
which  darts  through  the  whole  creation  at  once,  now  be- 
hold your  hearts  moving  towards  God  1  Or  am  I  wast- 
ing these  gracious  encouragements  upon  stupid  creatures, 
void  of  sensation,  that  do  not  care  for  them,  or  that  are  so 
conceited  of  their  own  worth,  as  not  to  need  them  1  If  so, 
I  retract  these  consolations,  with  respect  to  you,  and  shall 
presently  tell  you  your  doom.  But  let  us  further  pursue 
these  melting  strains  of  paternal  pity. 

"  For  since  I  spake  against  him,  I  do  earnestly  remem- 
ber him  still."  Many  and  dreadful  were  the  threatenings 
denounced  against  the  sinner,  while  impenitent ;  and,  had 
he  continued  impenitent,  they  would  certainly  have  been 
executed  upon  him.  But  the  primary  and  immediate  de- 
sign of  the  threatenings  are  to  make  men  happy,  and  not 
to  make  them  miserable ;  they  are  designed  to  deter  them 
from  disobedience,  which  is  naturally  productive  of  misery, 
or  to  reclaim  them  from  it,  which  is  but  to  restrain  them 
in  their  career  to  ruin.  And  consequently  these  threat- 
enings proceed  from  love  as  well  as  the  promises  of  our 
God,  from  love  to  the  person,  though  from  hatred  to  sin. 
So  the  same  love  which  prompts  a  parent  to  promise  a 
reward  to  his  son  for  obedience,  will  prompt  him  also  to 
threaten  him,  if  he  takes  some  dangerous  weapon  to  play 
with  :  or,  to  choose  a  more  pertinent  illustration,  for  God 
is  the  moral  ruler  as  well  as  the  father  of  the  rational 
world ;  the  same  regard  to  the  public  weal,  which  induces 
a  lawgiver  to  annex  a  reward  to  obedience,  will  also 
prompt  him  to  add  penalties  to  his  law  to  deter  from  diso- 
bedience ;  and  his  immediate  design  is  not  to  make  any  of 
his  subjects  miserable,  but  to  keep  them  from  making 
themselves  and  others  miserable  by  disobedience ;  though 
when  the  threatening  is  once  denounced,  it  is  necessary  it 
should  be  executed,  to  vindicate  the  veracity  of  the  law- 


TO    MOURNING'    PENITENTS.  375 

giver,  and  secure  his  government  from  insult  and  contempt. 
Thus  when  the  primary  end  of  the  divine  threatenings, 
namely,  the  deterring  and  reclaiming  men  from  disobe- 
dience, is  not  obtained,  then  it  becomes  necessary  that  they 
should  be  executed  upon  the  impenitent  in  all  their  dread- 
ful extent;  but  when  the  sinner  is  brought  to  repentance, 
and  to  submit  to  the  divine  government,  then  all  these 
threatenings  are  repealed,  and  they  shall  not  hurt  one  hair 
of  his  head.  And  the  sinner  himself  will  acknowledge 
that  these  threatenings  proved  necessary  mercies  to  him, 
and  that  the  denunciation  of  everlasting  punishment  was 
one  means  of  bringing  him  to  everlasting  happiness,  and 
that  divine  vengeance  in  this  sense  conspired  with  divine 
grace  to  save  him. 

Consider  this,  ye  desponding  penitents,  and  allay  your 
terrors.  That  God,  who  has  written  such  bitter  things 
against  you  in  his  word,  earnestly  and  affectionately  re- 
members you  still,  and  it  was  with  a  kind  intent  to  you 
that  he  thundered  out  these  terrors  at  which  you  tremble. 
These  acids,  this  bitter  physic,  were  necessary  for  your 
recovery.  These  coals  of  fire  were  necessary  to  awaken 
you  out  of  your  lethargy.  Therefore  read  the  love  of 
your  Father,  even  in  these  solemn  warnings.  He  affec- 
tionately remembers  you  still;  he  cannot  put  you  out  of 
his  thoughts. 

Therefore  my  bowels  (adds  the  all-gracious  Jehovah)  are 
troubled  for  him.  Astonishing  beyond  conception !  how 
can  we  bear  up  under  such  words  as  these  ?  Surely  they 
must  break  our  hearts,  and  overwhelm  our  spirits !  Here 
is  the  great  God,  who  has  millions  of  superior  beings  to 
serve  him,  and  who  is  absolutely  independent  upon  them 
all,  troubled,  his  very  bowels  troubled,  for  a  rebellious, 
useless,  trifling  worm  !  Be  astonished  at  this,  ye  angels  of 
light,  who  are  the  witnesses  of  such  amazing,  such  un- 


376  THE    DIVINE    MERCY 

bounded  compassion ;  and  wonder  at  it,  O  ye  sons  of  men, 
who  are  more  intimately  concerned  in  it,  stand  and  adore, 
as  it  were,  in  statues  of  admiration  !  It  is  true  these  words 
are  not  to  be  taken  literally,  as  though  the  Deity  were 
capable  of  sorrow,  or  any  of  the  human  passions :  but  he 
here  condescends  to  adapt  himself  to  the  language  of  mor- 
tals, and  to  borrow  such  images  as  will  convey  to  us  the 
most  lively  ideas  of  his  grace  and  tenderness  to  mourning 
penitents ;  and  no  image  can  answer  this  end  better  than 
that  of  a  father,  whose  bowels  are  yearning  over  his  mourn- 
ing child,  prostrate  at  his  feet,  and  who,  with  eager  em- 
braces, raises  him  up,  assuring  him  of  pardon  and  accept- 
ance. If  any  of  you  now  know  what  it  is  to  receive  a 
penitent  child  in  this  manner,  while  all  the  father  is  ten- 
derly working  within  you,  you  may  form  some  affecting 
ideas  of  the  readiness  of  our  heavenly  Father  to  receive 
returning  sinners  from  this  tender  illustration. 

The  Lord  concludes  this  moving  speech  with  a  promise 
that  includes  in  it  more  than  we  can  ask  or  think,  sealed 
with  his  own  sacred  name.  I  will  surely  have  mercy,  or, 
(according  to  the  more  emphatical  original)  with  mercy, 
I  will  have  mercy  upon  him  saith  the  Lord  ;  this  is,  I  will 
show  abundant  mercy  to  him,  I  will  give  him  all  the  bless- 
ings that  infinite  mercy  can  bestow;  and  what  can  be 
needed  more  1  This  promise  includes  pardon,  acceptance, 
sanctification,  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  peace  of  conscience, 
and  immortal  life  and  glory  in  the  future  world.  Oh  sirs ! 
what  a  God,  what  a  Father  is  this !  Who  is  a  God  like 
unto  thee,  that  pardoneth  iniquity,  &c.  Micah  vii.  18. 

And  can  you,  ye  mourners  in  Zion,  can  you  fear  a  re- 
jection from  such  a  tender  Father?  Can  you  dread  to 
venture  upon  such  abundant  mercies  ?  Is  there  a  mourn- 
ing Ephraim  in  this  assembly  ?  I  may  call  you,  as  God 
did  Adam,  Ephraim,  where  art  thou?  Let  the  word 


TO    MOURNING     PENITENTS.  377 

of  God  find  you  out,  and  force  a  little  encouragement 
upon  you ;  your  heavenly  Father,  whose  angry  hand  you 
fear,  is  listening  to  your  groans,  and  will  measure  you  out 
a  mercy  for  every  groan,  a  blessing  for  every  sigh,  a  drop, 
a  draught  of  consolation  for  every  tear.  His  bowels  are 
moving  over  you,  and  he  addresses  you  in  such  language 
as  this,  "  Is  this  my  dear  son  ?  is  this  my  pleasant 
child?" 

And  as  to  you,  ye  hardy  impenitents,  ye  abandoned  pro- 
fligates, ye  careless  formalists,  ye  almost  Christians,  can 
you  hear  these  things,  and  not  begin  now  to  relent  ?  Do 
you  not  find  your  frozen  hearts  begin  to  thaw  within  you? 
Can  you  resist  such  alluring  grace  ?  Can  you  bear  the 
thoughts  of  continuing  enemies  to  so  good,  so  forgiving  a 
Father  ?  Does  not  Ephraim's  petition  now  rise  to  your 
hearts,  Turn  thou  me,  and  I  shall  be  turned  ?  then  I  con- 
gratulate you  upon  this  happy  day ;  you  are  this  day  be- 
come God's  dear  sons,  the  children  of  his  delights. 

Is  there  a  wretch  so  senseless,  so  wicked,  so  abandoned, 
as  to  refuse  to  return  ?  Where  art  thou,  hardy  rebel  ? 
Stand  forth  and  meet  the  terrors  of  thy  doom.  To  thee 
I  must  change  my  voice,  and  instead  of  representing  the 
tender  compassions  of  a  father,  must  denounce  the  terrors 
of  an  angry  judge.  Thy  doom  is  declared  and  fixed  by 
the  same  lips  that  speak  to  penitents  in  such  encouraging 
strains ;  by  those  gracious  lips  that  never  uttered  a  harsh 
censure.  God  is  angry  with  thee  every  day.  Psal.  vii. 
11.  Except  thou  repentest,  thou  shalt  surely  perish.  Luke 
xiii.  3.  The  example  of  Christ  authorizes  me  to  repeat  it 
again ;  "  Except  thou  repentest,  thou  shalt  surely  perish," 
ver.  5.  "  The  God  that  made  thee  will  destroy  thee ;  and 
he  that  formed  thee  will  show  thee  no  favour."  Isa.  xxvi. 
11.  "Thou  art  treasuring  up  wrath  in  horrid  affluence 
against  the  day  of  wrath."  Rom.  ii.  5.  "  God  is  jealous, 

VOL.  I.— 48 


378       THE    DIVINE    MERCY    TO    MOURNING    PENITENTS. 

and  the  LORD  revengeth;  the  LORD  revengeth,  and  is 
furious;  the  LORD  will  take  vengeance  on  his  adversaries; 
and  he  reserveth  wrath  for  his  enemies.  The  mountains 
quake  at  him,  and  the  hills  melt,  and  the  earth  is  burnt  at 
his  presence  :  yea,  the  world,  and  they  that  dwell  therein. 
Who  can  stand  before  his  indignation  1  Who  can  abide 
in  the  fierceness  of  his  anger  1  His  fury  is  poured  out 
like  fire,  and  the  rocks  are  thrown  down  by  him."  Nahum 
i.  2-6.  These  flaming  thunderbolts,  sinners,  are  aimed  at 
thy  heart,  and  if  thou  canst  harden  thyself  against  their 
terror,  let  me  read  thee  thy  doom  before  we  part.  You 
have  it  pronounced  by  God  himself  in  Deuteronomy,  the 
twenty-ninth  chapter,  at  the  nineteenth  and  the  following 
verses,  "  If  it  come  to  pass,  when  he  heareth  the  words  of 
this  curse,  that  he  bless  himself  in  his  heart,  saying,  I  shall 
have  peace,  though  I  walk  in  the  imagination  of  my  heart, 
The  Lord  will  not  spare  him :  but  then  the  anger  of  the 
Lord  and  his  jealousy  shall  smoke  against  that  man,  and  all 
the  curses  that  are  written  in  this  book  shall  lie  upon  him, 
and  the  LORD  shall  blot  out  his  name  from  under  heaven. 
And  the  LORD  shall  separate  him  unto  evil  out  of  all  the 
tribes  of  Israel,  according  to  all  the  curses  of  the  covenant 
that  are  written  in  this  book  of  the  law."  And  now,  sin- 
ner, if  thou  canst  return  home  careless  and  senseless  with 
this  heavy  curse  upon  thee,  expect  not  a  word  of  comfort, 
expect  no  blessing  till  thou  art  made  truly  penitent ;  for 
"  how  shall  I  bless  whom  God  has  not  blessed  ?"  The 
ministerial  blessing  falls  upon  one  on  thy  right  hand,  and 
one  on  thy  left,  but  it  lights  not  upon  thee.  The  curse  is 
thy  lot,  and  this  must  thou  have  at  the  hand  of  God,  if 
thou  continuest  hardened  and  insolent  in  sin.  Thou  must 
lie  down  in  sorrow.  Isa.  1.  11.  Consider  this,  ye  that  for- 
get God,  lest  he  tear  you  in  pieces,  and  there  be  none  to 
deliver.  Psal.  1.  22. 


CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO   ALL    TRUE    BELIEVERS.         379 


SERMON  XIV. 

CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO   ALL    TRUE   BELIEVERS. 

1  PETER  ii.  7. —  Unto  you  therefore  which  believe,  He  is 

precious.9 

YES;  blessed  be  God;  though  a  great  part  of  the 
creation  is  disaffected  to  Jesus  Christ;  though  fallen  spirits, 
both  in  flesh  and  without  flesh,  both  upon  earth  and  in 
hell,  neglect  him  or  profess  themselves  open  enemies  to 
him,  yet  he  is  precious ;  precious  not  only  in  himself,  not 
only  to  his  Father,  not  only  to  the  choirs  of  heaven,  who 
behold  his  full  glory  without  a  veil,  but  precious  to  some 
even  in  our  guilty  world ;  precious  to  a  sort  of  persons  of 
our  sinful  race,  who  make  no  great  figure  in  mortal  eyes, 
who  have  no  idea  of  their  own  goodness;  who  are  mean, 
unworthy  creatures,  in  their  own  view,  and  who  are 
generally  despicable  in  the  view  of  others;  I  mean  he  is 
precious  to  all  true  believers.  And  though  they  are  but 
few  comparatively  in  our  world;  though  there  are,  I  am 
afraid,  but  few  additions  made  to  them  from  among  us; 
yet,  blessed  be  God,  there  are  some  believers  even  upon 
our  guilty  globe;  and  I  doubt  not  but  I  am  now  speaking 
to  some  such. 

My  believing  brethren,  (if  I  may  venture  to  claim 
kindred  with  you,)  I  am  now  entering  upon  a  design, 
which  I  know  you  have  much  at  heart:  and  that  is,  to 
make  the  blessed  Jesus  more  precious  to  you,  and  if  pos- 

*  Or  preciousneas  in  the  abstract,  n^iij. 


380  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

sible,  to  recommend  him  to  the  affections  of  the  crowd 
that  neglect  him.  You  know,  alas!  you  love  him  but 
little;  but  very  little,  compared  to  his  infinite  excellency 
and  your  obligations  to  him ;  and  you  know  that  multitudes 
love  him  not  at  all.  Whatever  they  profess,  their  practice 
shows  that  their  carnal  minds  are  enmity  against  him. 
This  you  often  see,  and  the  sight  affects  your  hearts.  It 
deeply  affects  you  to  think  so  much  excellency  should  be 
neglected  and  despised,  and  so  much  love  meet  with  such 
base  returns  of  ingratitude.  And  you  cannot  but  pity 
your  poor  fellow  sinners,  that  they  are  so  blind  to  the 
brightest  glory  and  their  own  highest  interest,  and  that 
they  should  perish,  through  wilful  neglect  of  their  deliverer ; 
perish,  as  it  were,  within  reach  of  the  hand  stretched  out 
to  save  them.  This  is  indeed  a  very  affecting,  very 
lamentable,  and  alas!  a  very  common  sight.  And  will 
you  not  then  bid  me  God-speed  this  day  in  my  attempt  to 
recommend  this  precious,  though  neglected,  Jesus?  Will 
you  not  contribute  your  share  towards  my  success  in  so 
pious  and  benevolent  a  design  by  your  earnest  prayers  ? 
Now,  shall  not  the  interceding  sigh  rise  to  heaven  from 
every  heart,  and  every  soul  be  cast  into  a  praying  posture  ? 
I  shall  hope  to  discharge  my  duty  with  more  comfort  and 
advantage,  if  you  afford  me  this  assistance.  And  surely 
such  of  you  cannot  deny  me  this  aid,  who  desire  that  Jesus 
may  become  still  more  precious  to  your  own  hearts,  and 
that  he  may  be  the  object  of  universal  love  from  all  the 
sons  of  men,  who  are  now  disaffected  to  him. 

To  you  that  believe,  he  is  precious — He  ?  Who  ?  Is  it 
mammon,  the  god  of  the  world  1  Is  it  pleasure,  or  honour  ? 
No;  none  of  these  is  the  darling  of  the  believing  heart. 
But  it  is  he  who  is  the  uppermost  in  every  pious  heart ; 
he,  who  is  first  in  the  thoughts  and  affections;  he  whom 
every  friend  of  his  must  know,  even  without  a  name ;  if  it 


ALL    TRUE    BELIEVERS.  381 

be  but  said  of  him,  he  is  precious,  this  is  enough  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  all  others.  "If  it  be  he  the  apostle 
means,"  may  every  believer  say,  "  who  is  most  precious  to 
my  soul,  then  I  can  easily  point  him  out,  though  without 
a  name.  It  must  be  Jesus,  for  oh!  it  is  he  that  is  most 
precious  to  me."  The  connection  also  of  the  text  directs 
us  to  the  same  person.  It  is  he  the  apostle  means,  whom 
he  had  just  described  as  a  living  stone,  chosen  of  God, 
and  precious;  the  chief  corner-stone,  the  great  foundation 
of  the  church,  that  spiritual  temple  of  God,  so  stately 
and  glorious,  and  reaching  from  earth  to  heaven ;  it  is  this 
precious  stone,  this  heavenly  jewel,  that  is  precious  to  be- 
lievers. 

"  To  you  that  believe,  he  is  precious"  i.  e.,  he  is  highly 
valued  by  you.  You  esteem  him  one  of  infinite  worth, 
and  he  has  the  highest  place  in  your  affections.  He  is 
dearer  to  your  hearts  than  all  other  persons  and  things.  The 
word  rep/}  requires  a  still  stronger  translation  :  "  To  you  that 
believe,  he  is  preciousness ;"  preciousness  in  the  abstract; 
all  preciousness,  and  nothing  but  preciousness;  a  precious 
stone  without  one  blemish.  Or  it  may  be  translated  with 
a  little  variation,  "To  you  that  believe,  he  is  honour."  It 
confers  the  highest  honour  upon  you  to  be  related  to  him ; 
and  you  esteem  it  your  highest  honour  to  sustain  that  re- 
lation. Though  Jesus  and  his  cross  are  names  of  re- 
proach in  the  unbelieving  world,  you  glory  in  them,  and 
they  reflect  a  real  glory  upon  you.  Or,  "To  you  that 
believe,  there  is  honour."*  Honour  is  now  conferred 
upon  you  in  your  being  built  as  living  stones  in  the  temple 
of  God  upon  this  precious  foundation;  and  honour  is  re- 
served for  you  in  heaven,  where  the  crown  of  righteous- 
ness awaits  you. 

*  The  pronoun  he,  is  not  in  the  original ;  but  the  passage  reads  thus  :  To 
you  who  believe,  honour. 


380  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

sible,  to  recommend  him  to  the  affections  of  the  crowd 
that  neglect  him.  You  know,  alas!  you  love  him  but 
little ;  but  very  little,  compared  to  his  infinite  excellency 
and  your  obligations  to  him;  and  you  know  that  multitudes 
love  him  not  at  all.  Whatever  they  profess,  their  practice 
shows  that  their  carnal  minds  are  enmity  against  him. 
This  you  often  see,  and  the  sight  affects  your  hearts.  It 
deeply  affects  you  to  think  so  much  excellency  should  be 
neglected  and  despised,  and  so  much  love  meet  with  such 
base  returns  of  ingratitude.  And  you  cannot  but  pity 
your  poor  fellow  sinners,  that  they  are  so  blind  to  the 
brightest  glory  and  their  own  highest  interest,  and  that 
they  should  perish,  through  wilful  neglect  of  their  deliverer ; 
perish,  as  it  were,  within  reach  of  the  hand  stretched  out 
to  save  them.  This  is  indeed  a  very  affecting,  very 
lamentable,  and  alas!  a  very  common  sight.  And  will 
you  not  then  bid  me  God-speed  this  day  in  my  attempt  to 
recommend  this  precious,  though  neglected,  Jesus?  Will 
you  not  contribute  your  share  towards  my  success  in  so 
pious  and  benevolent  a  design  by  your  earnest  prayers  ? 
Now,  shall  not  the  interceding  sigh  rise  to  heaven  from 
every  heart,  and  every  soul  be  cast  into  a  praying  posture  ? 
I  shall  hope  to  discharge  my  duty  with  more  comfort  and 
advantage,  if  you  afford  me  this  assistance.  And  surely 
such  of  you  cannot  deny  me  this  aid,  who  desire  that  Jesus 
may  become  still  more  precious  to  your  own  hearts,  and 
that  he  may  be  the  object  of  universal  love  from  all  the 
sons  of  men,  who  are  now  disaffected  to  him. 

To  you  that  believe,  he  is  precious — He  ?  Who  ?  Is  it 
mammon,  the  god  of  the  world  ?  Is  it  pleasure,  or  honour  ? 
No;  none  of  these  is  the  darling  of  the  believing  heart. 
But  it  is  he  who  is  the  uppermost  in  every  pious  heart ; 
he,  who  is  first  in  the  thoughts  and  affections;  he  whom 
every  friend  of  his  must  know,  even  without  a  name ;  if  it 


ALL    TRUE    BELIEVERS. 

be  but  said  of  him,  he  is  precious,  this  is  enough  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  all  others.  "If  it  be  he  the  apostle 
means,"  may  every  believer  say,  "who  is  most  precious  to 
my  soul,  then  I  can  easily  point  him  out,  though  without 
a  name.  It  must  be  Jesus,  for  oh!  it  is  he  that  is  most 
precious  to  me."  The  connection  also  of  the  text  directs 
us  to  the  same  person.  It  is  he  the  apostle  means,  whom 
he  had  just  described  as  a  living  stone,  chosen  of  God, 
and  precious;  the  chief  corner-stone,  the  great  foundation 
of  the  church,  that  spiritual  temple  of  God,  so  stately 
and  glorious,  and  reaching  from  earth  to  heaven ;  it  is  this 
precious  stone,  this  heavenly  jewel,  that  is  precious  to  be- 
lievers. 

"  To  you  that  believe,  he  is  precious"  i.  e.,  he  is  highly 
valued  by  you.  You  esteem  him  one  of  infinite  worth, 
and  he  has  the  highest  place  in  your  affections.  He  is 
dearer  to  your  hearts  than  all  other  persons  and  things.  The 
word  Tiny  requires  a  still  stronger  translation  :  "  To  you  that 
believe,  he  is  preciousness ;"  preciousness  in  the  abstract; 
all  preciousness,  and  nothing  but  preciousness;  a  precious 
stone  without  one  blemish.  Or  it  may  be  translated  with 
a  little  variation,  "To  you  that  believe,  he  is  honour."  It 
confers  the  highest  honour  upon  you  to  be  related  to  him; 
and  you  esteem  it  your  highest  honour  to  sustain  that  re- 
lation. Though  Jesus  and  his  cross  are  names  of  re- 
proach in  the  unbelieving  world,  you  glory  in  them,  and 
they  reflect  a  real  glory  upon  you.  Or,  "To  you  that 
believe,  there  is  honour."*  Honour  is  now  conferred 
upon  you  in  your  being  built  as  living  stones  in  the  temple 
of  God  upon  this  precious  foundation;  and  honour  is  re- 
served for  you  in  heaven,  where  the  crown  of  righteous- 
ness awaits  you. 

*  The  pronoun  he,  is  not  in  the  original ;  but  the  passage  reads  thus  :  To 
you  who  believe,  honour. 


382  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

"  To  you  which  believe,  he  is  precious ;"  that  is  to  say, 
the  value  of  this  precious  stone  is,  alas !  unknown  to  the 
crowd.  It  is  so  far  from  being  precious,  that  it  is  a  stone 
of  stumbling,  and  a  rock  of  offence;  a  stone  disallowed  of 
men,  (v.  4,)  rejected  even  by  the  builders,  (v.  7,)  but  you 
believers,  ye  happy  few,  have  another  estimate  of  it. 
Faith  enables  you  to  see  the  glories  of  the  blessed  Jesus ; 
and,  when  you  know  him  through  this  medium,  you  can- 
not but  love  him.  The  blind  world  neglect  the  Lord  of 
glory,  because  they  know  him  not:  but  you  believers  know 
him,  and  therefore  to  you  he  is  precious.  Faith  presents 
him  to  your  view  in  a  just  light,  and  directs  you  to  form  a 
proper  estimate  of  him.  It  is  truly  lamentable  that  such 
real  excellency  should  be  despised ;  but  so  it  will  be  with 
the  world  till  they  believe.  The  mere  speculative  recom- 
mendation of  their  reason,  the  prepossessions  of  education 
in  his  favour,  and  the  best  human  means,  are  not  sufficient 
to  render  Jesus  precious  to  them.  Nothing  but  saving 
faith  can  effect  this. 

To  you  therefore  which  believe  he  is  precious.  The 
illative  particle,  therefore,  shows  this  passage  is  an  in- 
ference from  what  went  before;  and  the  reasoning  seems 
to  be  this :  "  This  stone  is  precious  to  God,  therefore  it  is 
precious  to  you  that  believe.  You  have  the  same  estimate 
of  Jesus  Christ  which  God  the  Father  has ;  and  for  that 
very  reason  he  is  precious  to  you,  because  he  is  precious 
to  him."  That  this  is  the  connection  will  appear,  if  you 
look  back  to  the  4th  and  6th  verses;  where  you  find  Jesus 
described  as  "a  chief  corner-stone,  laid  in  Zion,  elect  or 
chosen,  and  precious;  disallowed,  indeed,  of  men,  but 
chosen  of  God,  and  precious."*  Men  wickedly  disapprove 

*The  word  used  in  ver.  4  and  6  is  a  compound,  rendered  "precious"  in 
the  text.  And  this  is  an  intimation  that  the  text  is  an  inference  from  the 
above  verses. 


ALL    TRUE    BELIEVERS.  383 

this  stone,  and  even  many  of  the  professed  builders  of  his 
church  reject  him.  This,  says  the  apostle,  must  be 
granted.  But  this  is  no  objection  to  his  real  worth.  He 
is  precious  to  God,  who  knows  him  best,  and  who  is  a 
perfect  judge  of  real  excellency;  and  for  that  very  reason 
he  is  precious  to  you  that  believe.  Faith  teaches  you  to 
look  upon  persons  and  things  in  the  same  light  in  which 
God  views  them ;  it  makes  your  sentiments  conformed  to 
his.  Christ  is  the  Father's  beloved  son,  in  whom  he  is 
well  pleased ;  and  he  is  your  beloved  Saviour,  in  whom 
you  are  well  pleased. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  Jesus  should  be  precious  to  be- 
lievers, when  he  is  so  precious  in  himself,  and  in  his  of- 
fices, so  precious  to  the  angelic  hosts,  and  so  precious  to 
his  Father? 

1.  He  is  precious  in  himself.  He  is  Immanuel,  God- 
man  ;  and  consequently,  whatever  excellencies  belong  either 
to  the  divine  or  human  nature,  centre  in  him.  If  wisdom, 
power,  and  goodness,  divine  or  human,  created  or  uncre- 
ated, can  render  him  worthy  of  the  highest  affection,  he 
has  a  just  claim  to  it.  Whatever  excellencies,  natural  or 
moral,  appear  in  any  part  of  the  vast  universe,  they  are 
but  faint  shadows  of  his  beauty  and  glory.  All  things 
were  created  by  him,  and  for  him :  and  he  is  before  all 
things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist;  Col.  i.  16,  17. 
And  whatever  excellencies  are  in  the  effect  must  be  emi- 
nently in  the  cause.  You  do  not  wonder  nor  censure, 
when  you  see  men  delighted  with  the  glories  of  the  sun, 
and  the  various  luminaries  of  the  sky ;  you  do  not  wonder 
nor  blame  when  they  take  pleasure  in  the  beautiful  pros- 
pects of  nature,  or  in  that  rich  variety  of  good  things, 
which  earth,  and  sea,  and  every  element  furnishes  for  the 
support  of  man,  or  the  gratification  of  his  senses :  you  do 
not  wonder  and  blame,  when  they  are  struck  with  moral 


384  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

beauty,  when  you  see  them  admire  and  approve  wisdom, 
benevolence,  justice,  veracity,  meekness,  and  mercy;  you 
never  think  it  strange,  much  less  censurable,  that  men 
should  love  these  things,  and  count  them  precious ;  and 
can  you  be  astonished,  can  you  ridicule  or  find  fault,  that 
Jesus  is  precious  to  poor  believers  ?  If  the  copy  be  so 
fair  and  lovely,  who  would  not  love  the  original,  that  has 
eyes  to  behold  it  ?  Believers  see  so  much  of  the  worth 
of  Christ  as  is  sufficient  to  captivate  their  hearts,  and  to 
convince  them  of  their  guilt  in  loving  him  no  more ;  and 
the  clearer  their  views  are  of  him,  the  more  they  are  mor- 
tified at  the  criminal  defects  of  their  love ;  for  oh,  they  see 
he  deserves  infinitely  more! 

2.  The  Lord  Jesus  is  precious  in  his  offices.  His  me- 
diatorial office  is  generally  subdivided  into  three  parts, 
namely,  that  of  a  Prophet,  of  a  Priest,  and  of  a  King: 
and  how  precious  is  Christ  in  each  of  these ! 

As  a  Prophet,  how  sweet  are  his  instructions  to  a  be- 
wildered soul !  How  precious  the  words  of  his  lips,  which 
are  the  words  of  eternal  life !  How  delightful  to  sit  and 
hear  him  teach  the  way  of  duty  and  happiness,  revealing 
the  Father,  and  the  wonders  of  the  invisible  state !  How 
transporting  to  hear  him  declare  upon  what  terms  an  of- 
fended God  may  be  reconciled !  a  discovery  beyond  the 
searches  of  all  the  sages  and  philosophers  of  the  heathen 
world !  How  reviving  is  it  to  listen  to  his  gracious  pro- 
mises and  invitations !  promises  and  invitations  to  the  poor, 
the  weary,  and  heavy-laden,  to  the  broken-hearted,  and 
even  to  the  chief  of  sinners !  The  word  of  Christ  has 
been  the  treasure,  the  support,  and  the  joy  of  believers  in 
all  ages.  "I  have  esteemed  the  words  of  his 'mouth," 
says  Job,  "more  than  my  necessary  food,"  Job  xxiii.  12. 
It  is  this  precious  word  the  Psalmist  so  often  and  so  highly 
celebrates.  He  celebrates  it  as  "  more  to  be  desired  than 


ALL    TRUE    BELIEVERS.  385 

gold ;  yea,  than  much  fine  gold ;  sweeter  also  than  honey, 
and  the  honey-comb,"  Psalm  xix.  10.  "  Oh  how  I  love 
thy  law !"  says  he :  "  it  is  my  meditation  all  the  day," 
Psalm  cxix.  97.  "  How  sweet  are  thy  words  unto  my 
taste !  yea  sweeter  than  honey  to  my  mo'uth,"  ver.  103. 
"  The  law  of  thy  mouth  is  better  unto  me  than  thousands 
of  gold  and  silver,"  ver.  72.  "  Behold,  I  have  longed 
after  thy  precepts,"  ver.  40.  "  Thy  statutes  have  been 
my  songs  in  the  house  of  my  pilgrimage,"  ver.  54.  "  In 
my  affliction,  thy  word  hath  quickened  me,"  ver.  50. 
"  Unless  thy  law  had  been  my  delights,  I  should  then  have 
perished  in  my  affliction,"  ver.  92.  This  is  the  language 
of  David,  in  honour  of  this  divine  Prophet,  near  three 
thousand  years  ago,  when  Christ  had  not  revealed  the  full 
gospel  to  the  world,  but  only  some  rays  of  it  shone  through 
the  veil  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation.  And  must  not  be- 
lievers now,  who  live  under  the  more  complete  and  clear 
instructions  of  the  great  Prophet,  entertain  the  same  sen- 
timents of  him  ?  Yes,  to  such  of  you  as  believe,  even  in 
this  age,  he  is  most  precious. 

But  this  external  objective  instruction  is  not  all  that 
Christ  as  a  Prophet  communicates;  and,  indeed,  did  he  do 
no  more  than  this,  it  would  answer  no  valuable  end.  The 
mind  of  man,  in  his  present  fallen  state,  like  a  disordered 
eye,  is  incapable  of  perceiving  divine  things  in  a  proper 
light,  however  clearly  they  are  revealed ;  and  therefore, 
till  the  perceiving  faculty  be  rectified,  all  external  revela- 
tion is  in  vain,  and  is  only  like  opening  a  fair  prospect  to 
a  blind  eye.  Hence  this  great  Prophet  carries  his  instruc- 
tion further,  not  only  by  proposing  divine  things  in  a  clear 
objective  light  by  his  word,  but  inwardly  enlightening  the 
mind,  and  enabling  it  to  perceive  what  is  revealed  by  his 
Spirit.  And  how  precious  are  these  internal  subjective 

instructions !     How  sweet  to  feel  a  disordered,  dark  mind 
VOL.  I.— 49 


386  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

opening  to  admit  the  shinings  of  heavenly  day;  to  perceive 
the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  beauties 
of  holiness,  and  the  majestic  wonders  of  the  eternal  world ! 
Speak,  ye  that  know  by  happy  experience,  and  tell  how 
precious  Jesus  appears  to  you,  when,  by  his  own  blessed 
Spirit,  he  scatters  the  cloud  that  benighted  your  under- 
standings, and  lets  in  the  rays  of  his  glory  upon  your  ad- 
miring souls ;  when  he  opens  your  eyes  to  see  the  won- 
ders contained  in  his  law,  and  the  glorious  mysteries  of 
his  gospel.  What  a  divine  glory  does  then  spread  upon 
every  page  of  the  sacred  volume !  Then  it  indeed  ap- 
pears the  book  of  God,  God-like,  and  worthy  its  Author. 
Oh,  precious  Jesus !  let  us  all  this  day  feel  thine  enlight- 
ening influences,  that  experience  may  teach  us  how  sweet 
they  are!  Come,  great  Prophet!  come,  and  make  thine 
own  Spirit  our  teacher,  and  then  shall  we  be  divinely 
wise. 

Again,  the  Lord  Jesus  is  precious  to  believers  as  a  great 
High  Priest.  As  a  High  Priest,  he  made  complete  atone- 
ment for  sin  by  his  propitiatory  sacrifice  on  the  cross ;  and 
he  still  makes  intercession  for  the  transgressors  on  his 
throne  in  heaven.  It  was  his  sacrifice  that  satisfied  the 
demands  of  the  law  and  justice  of  God,  and  rendered  him 
reconcilable  to  the  guilty,  upon  terms  consistent  with  his 
honour  and  the  rights  of  his  government.  It  was  by  virtue 
of  this  sacrifice  that  he  procured  pardon  for  sin,  the  favour 
of  God,  freedom  from  hell,  and  eternal  life  for  condemned, 
obnoxious  rebels.  And  such  of  you,  who  have  ever  felt 
the  pangs  of  a  guilty  conscience,  and  obtained  relief  from 
Jesus  Christ,  can  tell  how  precious  is  his  atoning  sacrifice. 
How  did  it  ease  your  self-tormenting  consciences,  and  heal 
your  broken  hearts !  How  did  it  change  the  frowns  of 
an  angry  God  into  smiles  of  love,  and  your  trembling  ap- 
prehensions of  vengeance  into  delightful  hopes  of  mercy ! 


ALL    TRUE    BELIEVERS.  387 

How  precious  did  Jesus  appear,  with  a  pardon  in  his  hand, 
with  atoning  blood  gushing  from  his  opened  veins,  and 
making  his  cross,  as  it  were,  the  key  to  open  the  gates  of 
heaven  for  your  admission  !  Blessed  Saviour !  our  great 
High  Priest !  thus  appear  to  us  with  all  thy  robes,  dyed 
in  thine  own  blood,  and  cause  us  all  to  feel  the  efficacy  of 
thy  propitiation. 

Let  us  next  turn  our  eyes  upwards,  and  view  this  great 
High  Priest  as  our  Intercessor  in  the  presence  of  God. 
There  he  appears  as  a  lamb  that  was  slain,  bearing  the 
memorials  of  his  sacrifice,  and  putting  the  Father  in  re- 
membrance of  the  blessings  purchased  for  his  people. 
There  he  urges  it  as  his  pleasure,  as  his  authoritative  will, 
that  these  blessings  should  in  due  time  be  conferred  upon 
those  for  whom  they  were  purchased.  In  this  authorita- 
tive manner  he  could  intercede  even  in  the  days  of  his 
humiliation  upon  earth,  because  of  the  Father's  covenant 
engagements  with  him,  the  accomplishment  of  which  he 
has  a  right  to  demand,  as  well  as  humbly  to  petition : 
"  Father,  I  will — I  will,  that  they  also  whom  thou  hast 
given  me,  be  with  me  where  I  am ;  that  they  may  behold 
my  glory,"  John  xvii.  24.  Now  how  precious  must  Christ 
appear  in  the  character  of  Intercessor !  That  the  friend- 
less sinner  should  have  an  all-prevailing  advocate  in  the 
court  of  heaven  to  undertake  his  cause !  that  the  great 
High  Priest  should  offer  up  the  grateful  incense  of  his  own 
merit,  with  the  prayers  of  the  saints!  that  he  should  add 
the  sanction  of  his  authoritative  will  to  the  humble  peti- 
tion of  faith !  that  he  should  urge  the  claims  of  his  people, 
as  his  own  claims,  founded  upon  an  unchangeable  covenant 
with  his  Father,  of  which  he  has  fully  performed  the  con- 
ditions required!  that  he  should  not  intercede  occasionally, 
but  always  appear  in  the  holy  of  holies  as  the  constant 
ever-living  Intercessor,  and  maintain  the  same  interest,  the 


388  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

same  importunity  at  all  times,  even  when  the  petitions  of 
his  people  languish  upon  their  lips !  What  delightful  re- 
flections are  these !  and  how  warmly  may  they  recommend 
the  Lord  Jesus  to  the  hearts  of  believers !  How  just  is 
the  apostle's  inference,  "  Having  an  High  Priest  over  the 
house  of  God,  let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart,  in  full 
assurance  of  faith ;  and  let  us  hold  fast  the  profession  of 
our  faith  without  wavering."  Heb.  x.  21-23.  u  He  is 
able  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that  come  unto  God 
by  him;"  for  this  reason,  because  "he  ever  liveth  to  make 
intercession  for  them."  Heb.  vii.  25.  May  each  of  us 
intrust  his  cause  to  this  all-prevailing  Advocate,  and  we 
shall  certainly  gain  it!  The  unchangeable  promise  has 
passed  his  lips,  "  that  whatsoever  we  ask  the  Father  in  his 
name,  he  will  give  it  us."  John  xvi.  23. 

Let  me  add,  the  kingly  office  of  Christ  is  precious  to 
believers.  As  King  he  gives  laws,  laws  perfectly  wise 
and  good,  and  enforced  with  the  most  important  sanc- 
tions, everlasting  rewards  and  punishments.  And  how 
delightful,  how  advantageous,  to  live  under  such  a  govern- 
ment !  to  have  our  duty  discovered  with  so  much  clear- 
ness and  certainty  which  frees  us  from  so  many  painful 
anxieties,  and  to  have  such  powerful  motives  to  obedience, 
which  have  a  tendency  to  infuse  vigour  and  spirit  into  our 
endeavours !  As  King,  he  appoints  ordinances  of  worship. 
And  how  sweet  to  converse  with  him  in  these  ordinances, 
and  to  be  freed  from  perplexity  about  that  manner  of 
worship  which  God  will  accept,  without  being  exposed  to 
that  question,  so  confounding  to  will-worshippers,  Who  hath 
required  this  at  your  hands  ?  As  King,  he  is  head  over 
all  things  to  his  church,  and  manages  the  whole  creation, 
as  is  most  subservient  to  her  good.  The  various  ranks  of 
creatures  in  heaven,  earth  and  hell,  are  subject  to  his  di- 
rection and  control ;  and  they  must  all  co-operate  for  the 


ALL    TRUE    BELIEVERS.  389 

good  of  his  people.  He  reclaims,  confounds,  subdues,  or 
destroys  their  enemies,  according  to  his  pleasure.  And 
how  precious  must  he  be  in  this  august  character  to  the 
feeble  helpless  believer !  To  have  an  almighty  friend  sit- 
ting at  the  helm  of  the  universe,  with  the  supreme  man- 
agement of  all  things  in  his  hands ;  to  be  assured  that  even 
the  most  injurious  enemy  can  do  the  believer  no  real  or 
lasting  injury,  but  shall  at  length  concur  to  work  his  great- 
est good  ;  and  that,  come  what  will,  it  shall  go  well  with 
him,  and  he  shall  at  last  be  made  triumphant  over  all  diffi- 
culty and  opposition.  Oh!  what  transporting  considera- 
tions are  here  !  But  this  is  not  the  whole  exercise  of  the 
royal  power  of  Christ.  He  not  only  makes  laws  and  or- 
dinances, and  restrains  the  enemies  of  his  people,  but  he 
exercises  his  power  inwardly  upon  their  hearts.  He  is 
the  King  of  souls ;  he  reigns  in  the  hearts  of  his  subjects  ; 
and  how  infinitely  dear  and  precious  is  he  in  this  view ! 
To  feel  him  subdue  the  rebellion  within,  sweetly  bending 
the  stubborn  heart  into  willing  obedience,  and  reducing 
every  thought  into  a  cheerful  captivity  to  himself,  writing 
his  law  upon  the  heart,  making  the  dispositions  of  his  sub- 
jects a  transcript  of  his  will,  corresponding  to  it,  like  wax 
to  the  seal,  how  delightful  is  all  this !  Oh  the  pleasures 
of  humble  submission  !  How  pleasant  to  lie  as  subjects  at 
the  feet  of  this  mediatorial  King  without  arrogating  the 
sovereignty  to  ourselves,  for  which  we  are  utterly  insuffi- 
cient !  Blessed  Jesus !  thus  reign  in  our  hearts  thus  sub- 
due the  nations  to  the  obedience  of  faith  !  "  Gird  thy 
sword  upon  thy  thigh,  O  most  Mighty !  and  ride  prosper- 
ously, attend  with  majesty,  truth,  meekness,  and  righte- 
ousness." Psalm  xlv.  3,  4.  "  Send  the  rod  of  thy  strength 
out  of  Sion :  rule  thou  in  the  midst  of  thine  enemies," 
Psalm  ex.  2,  rule  us,  and  subdue  the  rebel  in  our  hearts. 
Thus  you  see  the  Lord  Jesus  is  precious  to  believers  in 


390  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

all  the  views  of  his  mediatorial  office.  But  he  is  not  pre- 
cious to  them  alone :  he  is  beloved  as  far  as  known,  and 
the  more  known  the  more  beloved :  which  leads  me  to  add, 

3.  He  is  precious  to  all  the  angels  of  heaven. 

St.  Peter  tells  us  that  the  things  now  reported  to  us 
by  the  gospel  are  things  which  the  angels  desire  to  look 
into,  1  Pet.  i.  12.  Jesus  is  the  wonder  of  angels  now  in 
heaven;  and  he  was  so  even  when  he  appeared  in  the 
form  of  a  servant  upon  earth.  St.  Paul  mentions  it  as  one 
part  of  the  great  mystery  of  godliness,  that  God  manifested 
in  the  flesh  was  seen  of  angels.  1  Tim.  iii.  16.  Angels 
saw  him,  and  admired  and  loved  him  in  the  various  stages 
of  his  life,  from  his  birth  to  his  return  to  his  native  heaven. 
Hear  the  manner  in  which  angels  celebrated  his  entrance 
into  our  world.  One  of  them  spread  his  wings  and  flew 
with  joyful  haste  to  a  company  of  poor  shepherds  that 
kept  their  midnight  watches  in  the  field,  and  abruptly  tells 
the  news,  of  which  his  heart  was  full :  "  Behold,  I  bring 
you  good  tidings  of  great  joy  which  shall  be  to  all  people; 
for  to  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Saviour, 
which  is  Christ  the  Lord:  and  suddenly  there  was  with 
the  angel  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host."  Crowds  of 
angels  left  their  stations  in  the  celestial  court  in  that  me- 
morable hour,  and  hovered  over  the  place  where  their  in- 
carnate God  lay  in  a  manager :  Jesus,  their  darling,  was 
gone  down  to  earth,  and  they  must  follow  him ;  for  who 
would  not  be  where  Jesus  is  1  Men,  ungrateful  men,  were 
silent  upon  that  occasion,  but  angels  tuned  their  song  of 
praise.  The  astonished  shepherds  heard  them  sing, 
"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good- 
will to  men."  Luke  ii.  10-14.  When  he  bringeth  his 
first  born  into  the  world,  the  Father  saith,  Let  all  the 
angels  of  God  worship  him,  Heb.  i.  6.  This  seems  to  in- 
timate that  all  the  angels  crowded  round  the  manger, 


ALL   TRUE   BELIEVERS.  391 

where  the  Infant-God  lay,  and  paid  him  their  humble 
worship.  We  are  told,  that  when  the  devil  had  finished 
his  long  process  of  temptations,  after  forty  days,  and  had 
left  him,  the  angels  came  and  ministered  unto  him.  Matt, 
iv.  11.  When  this  disagreeable  companion  had  left  him, 
his  old  attendants  were  fond  of  renewing  their  service  to 
him.  In  every  hour  of  difficulty  they  were  ready  to  fly 
to  his  aid.  He  was  seen  of  angels,  in  his  hard  conflict,  in 
the  garden  of  Gethsemane ;  and  one  of  them  "  appeared 
unto  him  from  heaven,  strengthening  him."  Luke  xxii.  43. 
With  what  wonder,  sympathy  and  readiness,  did  this  an- 
gelic assistant  raise  his  prostrate  Lord  from  the  cold 
ground,  wipe  off  his  bloody  sweat,  and  support  his  sinking 
spirit  with  divine  encouragements!  But  oh!  ye  blessed 
angels,  ye  usual  spectators,  and  adorers  of  the  divine  glo- 
ries of  our  Redeemer,  with  what  astonishment  and  horror 
were  you  struck,  when  you  saw  him  expire  on  the  cross ! 

"  Around  the  bloody  tree 
Ye  press'd  with  strong  desire, 
That  wondrous  sight  to  see, 
The  Lord  of  life  expire  ! 

And  could  your  eyes 

Have  known  a  tear, 

Had  dropt  it  there 

In  sad  surprise."* 

Ye  also  hovered  round  his  tomb,  while  he  lay  in  the 
prison  of  the  grave.  The  weeping  women  and  his  other 
friends  found  you  stationed  there  in  their  early  impatient 
visits  to  the  sepulchre  !  Oh  what  wonders  then  appeared 
to  your  astonished  minds !  Could  you,  that  pry  so  deep  into 
the  secrets  of  heaven,  you  that  know  so  well  what  divine 
love  can  do,  could  you  have  thought  that  even  divine  love 
could  have  gone  so  far  ?  could  have  laid  the  Lord  of  glory 
a  pale,  mangled,  senseless  corpse  in  the  mansions  of  the 

*  Dodd  ridge. 


392  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

dead?  Was  not  this  a  strange  surprise  even  to  you? 
And,  when  the  appointed  day  began  to  dawn,  with  what 
eager  and  joyful  haste  did  ye  roll  away  the  stone,  and  set 
open  the  prison  doors,  that  the  rising  Conqueror  might 
march  forth ! 

"  And  when  arrayed  in  light, 
The  shining  conqueror  rode, 
Te  hail'd  his  rapturous  flight 
Up  to  the  throne  of  God  ; 

And  wav'd  around 

Your  golden  wings, 

And  struck  your  strings 

Of  sweetest  sound.* 

When  he  ascended  on  high,  he  was  attended  "  with  the 
chariots  of  God,  which  are  twenty  thousand,  even  thou- 
sands of  angels."  Psalm  Ixviii.  17,  18.  And  now,  when 
he  is  returned  to  dwell  among  them,  Jesus  is  still  the  dar- 
ling of  angels.  His  name  sounds  from  all  their  harps,  and 
his  love  is  the  subject  of  their  everlasting  song.  St.  John 
once  heard  them,  and  I  hope  we  shall  ere  long  hear  them, 
saying  with  a  loud  voice,  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and 
strength,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and  blessing."  Rev.  v.  11, 
12.  This  is  the  song  of  angels,  as  well  as  of  the  redeemed 
from  among  men  : 

"Jesus  the  Lord,  their  harps  employs; 

Jesus,  my  love,  they  sing  ; 
Jesus,  the  name  of  both  our  joys, 
Sounds  sweet  from  every  string. "•(• 

Oh  my  brethren,  could  we  see  what  is  doing  in  heaven 
at  this  instant,  how  would  it  surprise,  astonish,  and  con- 
found us  ?  Do  you  think  the  name  of  Jesus  is  of  as  lit- 

*  An  excellent  hymn  of  Dr.  Doddridge's  on  1  Tim.  iii.  16. — Seen  of 
Angels, 
f  Watts'  Hor.  Lyric. 


ALL  TRUE  BELIEVERS.  393 

tie  importance  there  as  in  the  world?  Do  you  think 
there  is  one  lukewarm  or  disaffected  heart  there  among 
ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  of  thousands  of  thousands  ? 
Oh  no  !  there  his  love  is  the  ruling  passion  of  every  heart, 
and  the  favourite  theme  of  every  song.  And  is  he  so  pre- 
cious to  angels  ?  to  angels,  who  are  less  interested  in  him, 
and  less  indebted  to  him  ?  And  must  he  not  be  precious 
to  poor  believers  bought  with  his  blood,  and  entitled  to 
life  by  his  death  1  Yes,  you  that  believe  have  an  angelic 
spirit  in  this  respect;  you  love  Jesus,  though  unseen,  as 
well  as  they  who  see  him  as  he  is,  though  alas !  in  a  far 
less  degree.  But  to  bring  his  worth  to  the  highest  stand- 
ard of  all,  I  add, 

4.  He  is  infinitely  precious  to  his  Father,  who  tho- 
roughly knows  him,  and  is  an  infallible  judge  of  real 
worth.  He  proclaimed  more  than  once  from  the  excel- 
lent glory,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased ;  hear  ye  him.  Behold,"  says  he,  "  my  servant 
whom  I  uphold ;  mine  elect,  in  whom  my  soul  delighteth." 
Isa.  xlii.  1.  He  is  called  by  the  names  of  the  tenderest 
endearment;  his  Son,  his  own  Son,  his  dear  Son,  the  Son 
of  his  love.  He  is  a  stone  disallowed  indeed  of  men ;  if 
their  approbation  were  the  true  standard  of  merit,  he 
must  be  looked  upon  as  a  very  worthless,  insignificant 
being,  unworthy  of  their  thoughts  and  affections.  But  let 
men  form  what  estimate  of  him  they  please,  he  is  chosen 
of  God,  and  precious.  And  shall  not  the  love  of  the  om- 
niscient God  have  weight  with  believers  to  love  him  too  ? 
Yes,  the  apostle  expressly  draws  the  consequence ;  he  is 
precious  to  God,  therefore  to  you  that  believe,  he  is  pre- 
cious. It  is  the  characteristic  of  even  the  meanest  be- 
liever, that  he  is  God-like.  He  is  a  partaker  of  the  di- 
vine nature,  and  therefore  views  things,  in  some  measure, 
as  God  does;  and  is  affected  towards  them  as  God  is, 

VOL.  I.— 50 


394  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

though  there  be  an  infinite  difference  as  to  the  degree. 
He  prevailingly  loves  what  God  loves,  and  that  because 
God  loves  it. 

And  now,  my  hearers,  what  think  you  of  Christ  ?  Will 
you  not  think  of  him  as  believers  do  1  If  so,  he  will  be 
precious  to  your  hearts  above  all  things  for  the  future. 
Or  if  you  disregard  this  standard  of  excellence,  as  being 
but  the  estimate  of  fallible  creatures,  will  you  not  think 
of  him  as  angels  do;  angels,  those  bright  intelligences,  to 
whom  he  reveals  his  unveiled  glories,  who  are  more  capa- 
ble of  perceiving  and  judging  of  him,  and  who  therefore 
must  know  him  better  than  you ;  angels,  who  have  had  a 
long  acquaintance  with  him  at  home,  if  I  may  so  speak, 
for  near  six  thousand  years,  as  God,  i.  e.  ever  since  their 
creation,  and  for  near  two  thousand  years  as  God-man  ? 
Since  angels  then,  who  know  him  so  thoroughly,  love  him 
so  highly,  certainly  you  may  safely  venture  to  love  him ; 
you  might  safely  venture  to  love  him  implicitly,  upon  their 
word.  He  died  for  you,  which  is  more  than  eve'r  he  did 
for  them,  and  will  you  not  love  him  after  all  this  love  ? 
It  is  not  the  mode  to  think  much  of  him  in  our  world,  but 
it  is  the  mode  in  heaven.  Yes,  blessed  be  God,  if  he  be 
despised  and  rejected  of  men,  he  is  not  despised  and  re- 
jected of  angels.  Angels,  that  know  him  best,  love  him 
above  all,  and  as  far  as  their  capacity  will  allow,  do  justice 
to  his  merit ;  and  this  is  a  very  comfortable  thought  to  a 
heart  broken  with  a  sense  of  the  neglect  and  contempt  he 
meets  with  among  men.  Blessed  Jesus !  may  not  one 
congregation  be  got  together,  even  upon  our  guilty  earth; 
that  shall  in  this  respect  be  like  the  angels,  all  lovers  of 
thee  ?  Oh !  why  should  this  be  impossible,  while  they  are 
all  so  much  in  need  of  thee,  all  so  much  obliged  to  thee, 
and  thou  art  so  lovely  in  thyself!  Why,  my  brethren, 
should  not  this  congregation  be  made  of  such,  and  such 


ALL    TRUE    BELIEVERS.  395 

only  as  are  lovers  of  Jesus  ?  Why  should  he  not  be  pre- 
cious to  every  one  of  you,  rich  and  poor,  old  and  young, 
white  and  black  1  What  reason  can  any  one  of  you  give 
why  you  in  particular  should  neglect  him  ?  I  am  sure 
you  can  give  none.  And  will  you,  without  any  reason, 
dissent  from  all  the  angels  in  heaven,  in  a  point  of  which 
they  must  be  the  most  competent  judges  1  Will  you  dif- 
fer from  them,  and  agree  in  your  sentiments  of  Christ  with 
the  ghosts  of  hell,  his  implacable,  but  conquered  and  mis- 
erable enemies? 

If  all  this  has  no  weight  with  you,  let  me  ask  you  farther, 
will  you  not  agree  to  that  estimate  of  Jesus  which  his 
Father  has  of  him  ?  Will  you  run  counter  to  the  supreme 
reason  ?  Will  you  set  up  yourselves  as  wiser  than  Om- 
niscience ?  How  must  Jehovah  resent  it  to  see  a  worm 
at  his  footstool  daring  to  despise  him,  whom  he  loves  so 
highly !  Oh  let  him  be  precious  to  you,  because  he  is  so 
to  God,  who  knows  him  best. 

But  I  am  shocked  at  my  own  attempt.  Oh  precious 
Jesus !  are  matters  come  to  that  pass  in  our  world,  that 
creatures  bought  with  thy  blood,  creatures  that  owe  all 
their  hopes  to  thee,  should  stand  in  need  of  persuasions  to 
love  thee  ]  What  horrors  attend  the  thought !  However, 
blessed  be  God,  there  are  some,  even  among  men,  to  whom 
he  is  precious.  This  world  is  not  entirely  peopled  with 
the  despisers  of  Christ.  To  as  many  of  you  as  believe, 
he  is  precious,  though  to  none  else. 

Would  you  know  the  reason  of  this  ?  I  will  tell  you : 
None  but  believers  have  eyes  to  see  his  glory,  none  but 
they  are  sensible  of  their  need  of  him,  and  none  but  they 
have  learned  from  experience  how  precious  he  is. 

1.  None  but  believers  have  eyes  to  see  the  glory  of 
Christ.  As  the  knowledge  of  Christ  is  entirely  from  re- 
velation, an  avowed  unbeliever  who  rejects  that  revelation, 


396  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

can  have  no  right  knowledge  of  him,  and  therefore  must 
be  entirely  indifferent  towards  him,  as  one  unknown,  or 
must  despise  and  abhor  him  as  an  enthusiast  or  impostor. 
But  one,  who  is  not  an  unbeliever  in  profession  or  specu- 
lation, may  yet  be  destitute  of  that  faith  which  constitutes 
a  true  believer,  and  which  renders  Jesus  precious  to  the 
soul.  Even  devils  are  very  orthodox  in  speculation;  devils 
believe  and  tremble ;  and  they  could  cry  out,  "  What  have 
we  to  do  with  thee,  thou  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ?  We  know 
thee,  who  thou  art,  the  holy  one  of  God."  Mark  i.  24. 
And  there  are  crowds  among  us  who  believe,  after  a  fashion, 
that  Christ  is  the  true  Messiah,  who  yet  show  by  their 
practices  that  they  neglect  him  in  their  hearts,  and  are  not 
believers  in  the  full  import  of  the  character.  True  faith 
includes  not  only  a  speculative  knowledge  and  belief,  but 
a  clear,  affecting,  realizing  view,  and  a  hearty  approbation 
of  the  things  known  and  believed  concerning  Jesus  Christ; 
and  such  a  view,  such  an  approbation,  cannot  be  produced 
by  any  human  means,  but  only  by  the  enlightening  influ- 
ence of  the  holy  Spirit  shining  into  the  heart.  Without 
such  a  faith  as  this,  the  mind  is  all  dark  and  blind  as  to  the 
glory  of  Jesus  Christ;  it  can  see  no  beauty  in  him,  that 
he  should  be  desired.  Honourable  and  sublime  specula- 
tions concerning  him  may  hover  in  the  understanding,  and 
the  tongue  may  pronounce  many  pompous  panegyrics  in 
his  praise,  but  the  understanding  has  no  realizing,  affecting 
views  of  his  excellency ;  nor  does  the  heart  delight  in  him 
and  love  him  as  infinitely  precious  and  lovely.  The  god 
of  this  world,  the  prince  of  darkness,  has  blinded  the  minds 
of  them  that  believe  not,  lest  the  light  of  the  glorious  gos- 
pel of  Christ  should  shine  into  them.  But  as  to  the  en- 
lightened believer,  God,  who  first  commanded  light  to 
shine  out  of  darkness,  has  shined  into  his  heart,  to  give 
him  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in 


ALL    TRUE    BELIEVERS.  397 

the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  divine  illumination  pierces 
the  cloud  that  obscured  his  understanding,  and  enables 
him  to  view  the  Lord  Jesus  in  a  strong  and  striking  light; 
a  light  entirely  different  from  that  of  the  crowd  around 
him ;  a  light,  in  which  it  is  impossible  to  view  this  glorious 
object  without  loving  him.  A  believer  and  an  unbeliever 
may  be  equally  orthodox  in  speculation,  and  have  the  same 
notions  in  theory  concerning  Jesus  Christ,  and  yet  it  is 
certainly  true,  that  their  views  of  him  are  vastly  different. 
Believers,  do  you  think  that,  if  the  Christ-despising  multi- 
tude around  you  had  the  same  views  of  his  worth  and 
preciousness  which  you  have,  they  could  neglect  him,  as 
they  do  ?  It  is  impossible.  You  could  once  neglect  him, 
as  others  do  now ;  you  were  no  more  charmed  with  his 
beauty  than  they.  But  oh !  when  you  were  brought  out 
of  darkness  into  God's  marvellous  light,  when  the  glories 
of  the  neglected  Saviour  broke  in  upon  your  astonished 
minds,  then  was  it  possible  for  you  to  withhold  your  love 
from  him  1  Were  not  your  hearts  captivated  with  delight- 
ful violence  1  You  could  no  more  resist.  Did  not  your 
hearts  then  as  naturally  and  freely  love  him,  whom  they 
had  once  disgusted,  as  ever  they  loved  a  dear  child  or  a 
friend,  or  the  sweetest  created  enjoyment  ?  The  improv- 
ing your  reason  into  faith  is  setting  the  disordered  eye  of 
the  mind  right,  that  it  may  be  able  to  see  this  subject;  and 
when  once  you  viewed  it  with  this  eye  of  reason  restored 
and  improved,  how  did  the  precious  stone  sparkle  before 
you,  and  charm  you  with  its  brilliancy  and  excellence  ? 
Christ  is  one  of  those  things  unseen  and  hoped  for,  of 
which  St.  Paul  says,  faith  is  the  substance  and  evidence. 
Heb.  xi.  1.  Faith  gives  Christ  a  present  subsistence  in 
the  mind,  not  as  a  majestic  phantom,  but  as  the  most  glo- 
rious and  important  reality:  and  this  faith  is  a  clear,  af- 
fecting demonstration,  or  conviction,  of  his  existence,  and 


398  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

of  his  being  in  reality  what  his  word  represents  him.  It 
is  by  such  a  faith,  that  is,  under  its  habitual  influence,  that 
the  believer  lives ;  and  hence,  while  he  lives,  Jesus  is  still 
precious  to  him. 

2.  None  but  believers  are  properly  sensible  of  their 
need  of  Christ.  They  are  deeply  sensible  of  their  igno- 
rance and  the  disorder  of  their  understanding,  and  there- 
fore they  are  sensible  of  their  want  of  both  the  external 
and  internal  instructions  of  this  divine  prophet.  But  as  to 
others,  they  are  puffed  up  with  intellectual  pride,  and  ap- 
prehended themselves  in  very  little  need  of  religious  in- 
structions; and  therefore  they  think  but  very  slightly  of 
him.  Believers  feel  themselves  guilty,  destitute  of  all 
righteousness,  and  incapable  of  making  atonement  for 
their  sins,  or  recommending  themselves  to  God,  and  there- 
fore the  satisfaction  and  righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ  are 
most  precious  to  them,  and  they  rejoice  in  him  as  their 
all-prevailing  Intercessor.  But  as  to  the  unbelieving 
crowd,  they  have  no  such  mortifying  thoughts  of  them- 
selves! they  have  so  many  excuses  to  make  for  their  sins, 
that  they  bring  down  their  guilt  to  a  very  trifling  thing, 
hardly  worthy  of  divine  resentment:  and  they  magnify 
their  good  works  to  such  a  height,  that  they  imagine  they 
will  nearly  balance  their  bad,  and  procure  them  some 
favour  at  least  from  God,  and  therefore  they  must  look 
upon  this  High  Priest  as  needless.  They  also  love  to  be 
free  from  the  restraints  of  religion,  and  to  have  the  com- 
mand of  themselves.  They  would  usurp  the  power  of 
self-government,  and  make  their  own  pleasure  their  rule; 
and  therefore  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  a  King,  is  so  far 
from  being  precious,  that  he  is  very  unacceptable  to  such 
obstinate,  headstrong  rebels.  They  choose  to  have  no 
lawgiver,  but  their  own  wills;  and  therefore  they  trample 
upon  his  laws,  and,  as  it  were,  form  insurrections  against 


ALL    TRUE    BELIEVERS.  399 

his  government.  But  the  poor  believer,  sensible  of  his  in- 
capacity for  self-government,  loves  to  be  under  direction, 
and  delights  to  feel  the  dependent,  submissive,  pliant  spirit 
of  a  subject.  He  counts  it  a  mercy  not  to  have  the 
management  of  himself,  and  feels  his  need  of  this  media- 
torial King  to  rule  him.  He  hates  the  rebel  within,  hates 
every  insurrection  of  sin,  and  longs  to  have  it  entirely 
subdued,  and  every  thought,  every  motion  of  his  soul 
brought  into  captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ;  and 
therefore  he  feels  the  need  of  his  royal  power  to  make  an 
entire  conquest  of  his  hostile  spirit.  His  commands  are 
not.  uneasy  impositions,  but  most  acceptable  and  friendly 
directions  to  him;  and  the  prohibitions  of  his  law  are  not 
painful  restraints,  but  a  kind  of  privileges  in  his  esteem. 
The  language  of  his  heart  is,  "Precious  Jesus!  be  thou 
my  King.  I  love  to  live  in  humble  subjection  to  thee.  I 
would  voluntarily  submit  myself  to  thy  control  and  direc- 
tion. Thy  will,  and  not  mine  be  done!  Oh  subdue 
every  rebellious  principle  within,  and  make  me  all  resig- 
nation and  cheerful  obedience  to  thee!"  To  such  a  soul 
it  is  no  wonder  Jesus  should  be  exceedingly  precious :  but 
oh  how  different  is  this  spirit  from  that  which  generally 
prevails  in  the  world?  Let  me  add  but  one  reason  more 
why  Jesus  is  precious  to  believers,  and  them  only;  namely, 
3.  None  but  believers  have  known  by  experience  how 
precious  he  is.  They,  and  only  they,  can  reflect  upon 
the  glorious  views  of  him,  which  themselves  have  had,  to 
captivate  their  hearts  for  ever  to  him.  They,  and  only 
they,  have  known  what  it  is  to  feel  a  bleeding  heart  healed 
by  his  gentle  hand;  and  a  clamorous  languishing  con- 
science pacified  by  his  atoning  blood.  They,  and  only 
they,  know  by  experience  how  sweet  it  is  to  feel  his  love 
shed  abroad  in  their  hearts,  to  feel  a  heart,  ravished  with 
his  glory,  pant,  and  long,  and  breathe  after  him,  and  ex- 


400  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

erting  the  various  acts  of  faith,  desire,  joy,  and  hope  to- 
wards him.  They,  and  only  they,  know  by  experience 
how  pleasant  it  is  to  converse  with  him  in  his  ordinances, 
and  to  spend  an  hour  of  devotion  in  some  retirement,  as  it 
were,  in  his  company.  They,  and  only  they,  have  ex- 
perienced the  exertions  of  his  royal  power,  conquering 
their  mightiest  sins,  and  sweetly  subduing  them  to  him- 
self. These  are,  in  some  measure,  matters  of  experience 
with  every  true  believer,  and  therefore  it  is  no  wonder 
Jesus  should  be  precious  to  them.  But  as  to  the  unbe- 
lieving multitude,  poor  creatures !  they  are  entire  strangers 
to  these  things.  They  may  have  some  superficial  notions 
of  them  floating  in  their  heads,  but  they  have  never  felt 
them  in  their  hearts,  and  therefore  the  infinitely  precious 
Lord  Jesus  is  a  worthless,  insignificant  being  to  them :  and 
thus,  alas !  it  will  be  with  the  unhappy  creatures,  until  ex- 
perience becomes  their  teacher;  until  they  taste  for  them- 
selves that  the  Lord  is  gracious.  ]  Pet.  ii.  3. 

There  is  an  interesting  question,  which,  I  doubt  not, 
has  risen  in  the  minds  of  such  of  you  as  have  heard  what 
has  been  said  with  a  particular  application  to  yourselves, 
and  keeps  you  in  a  painful  suspense:  with  an  answer  to 
which  I  shall  conclude :  "  Am  I  indeed  a  true  believer  ?" 
may  some  of  you  say;  "and  is  Christ  precious  to  me? 
My  satisfaction  in  this  sweet  subject  is  vastly  abated,  till 
this  subject  is  solved.  Sometimes,  I  humbly  think,  the 
evidence  is  in  my  favour,  and  I  begin  to  hope  that  he  is 
indeed  precious  to  my  soul;  but  alas,  my  love  for  him 
soon  languishes,  and  then  my  doubts  and  fears  return,  and 
I  know  not  what  to  do,  nor  what  to  think  of  myself." 
Do  not  some  of  you,  my  brethren,  long  to  have  this  per- 
plexing case  .cleared  up  ?  Oh,  what  would  you  not  give, 
if  you  might  return  home  this  evening  fully  satisfied  in 
this  point?  Well,  I  would  willingly  help  you,  for  ex- 


ALL    TRUE    BELIEVERS.  401 

perience  has  taught  me  to  sympathize  with  you  under  this 
difficulty.  Oh  my  heart!  how  often  hast  thou  been  sus- 
picious of  thyself  in  this  respect?  The  readiest  way  I 
can  now  take  to  clear  up  the  matter  is  to  answer  another 
question,  naturally  resulting  from  my  subject;  and  that  is, 
"How  does  that  high  esteem  which  a  believer  has  for 
Jesus  Christ  discover  itself?  Or  how  does  he  show  that 
Christ  is  indeed  precious  to  him?"  I  answer,  he  shows 
it  in  various  ways;  particularly  by  his  affectionate  thoughts 
of  him,  which  often  rise  in  his  mind,  and  always  find 
welcome  there.  He  discovers  that  Jesus  is  precious  to 
him  by  hating  and  resisting  whatever  is  displeasing  to  him, 
and  by  parting  with  every  thing  that  comes  in  competition 
with  him.  He  will  let  all  go  rather  than  part  with  Christ. 
Honour,  reputation,  ease,  riches,  pleasure,  and  even  life 
itself,  are  nothing  to  him  in  comparison  of  Christ,  and  he 
will  run  the  risk  of  all;  nay,  will  actually  lose  all,  if  he 
may  but  win  Christ.  He  discovers  his  high  esteem  for 
him  by  the  pleasure  he  takes  in  feeling  his  heart  suitably 
affected  towards  him,  and  by  his  uneasiness  when  it  is 
otherwise.  Oh!  when  he  can  love  Jesus,  when  his 
thoughts  affectionately  clasp  around  him,  and  when  he  has 
a  heart  to  serve  him,  then  he  is  happy,  his  soul  is  well, 
and  he  is  lively  and  cheerful.  But,  alas !  when  it  is  other- 
wise with  him,  when  his  love  languishes,  when  his  heart 
hardens,  when  it  becomes  out  of  order  for  his  service,  then 
he  grows  uneasy  and  discontented,  and  cannot  be  at  rest. 
When  Jesus  favours  him  with  his  gracious  presence,  and 
revives  him  with  his  influence,  how  does  he  rejoice?  But 
when  his  beloved  withdraws  himself  and  is  gone,  how 
does  he  lament  his  absence,  and  long  for  his  return !  He 
weeps  and  cries  like  a  bereaved,  deserted  orphan,  and 
moans  like  a  loving  turtle  in  the  absence  of  its  mate. 
Because  Christ  is  so  precious  to  him,  he  cannot  bear  the 

VOL.  I.— 51 


402  CHRIST    PRECIOUS    TO 

thought  of  parting  with  him,  and  the  least  jealousy  of  his 
love  pierces  his  very  heart.  Because  he  loves  him,  he 
longs  for  the  full  enjoyment  of  him,  and  is  ravished  with 
the  prospect  of  him.  Because  Christ  is  precious  to  him, 
his  interests  are  so  too,  and  he  longs  to  see  his  kingdom 
flourish,  and  all  men  fired  with  his  love.  Because  he 
loves  him,  he  loves  his  ordinances;  loves  to  hear,  because 
it  is  the  word  of  Jesus ;  loves  to  pray,  because  it  is  main- 
taining intercourse  with  Jesus;  loves  to  sit  at  his  table, 
because  it  is  a  memorial  of  Jesus;  and  loves  his  people, 
because  they  love  Jesus.  Whatever  has  a  relation  to  his 
precious  Saviour  is  for  that  reason  precious  to  him;  and 
when  he  feels  anything  of  a  contrary  disposition,  alas!  it 
grieves  him,  and  makes  him  abhor  himself.  These  things 
are  sufficient  to  show  that  the  Lord  Jesus  has  his  heart, 
and  is  indeed  precious  to  him;  and  is  not  this  the  very 
picture  of  some  trembling,  doubting  souls  among  you? 
If  it  be,  take  courage.  After  so  many  vain  searches,  you 
have  at  length  discovered  the  welcome  secret,  that  Christ 
is  indeed  precious  to  you:  and  if  so,  you  may  be  sure 
that  you  are  precious  to  him.  "  They  shall  be  mine,  saith 
the  LORD,  in  that  day  when  I  make  up  my  jewels." 
Mai.  iii.  17.  If  you  are  now  satisfied,  after  thorough  trial 
of  the  case,  retain  your  hope,  and  let  not  every  dis- 
couraging appearance  renew  your  jealousies  again ;  labour 
to  be  steady  and  firm  Christians,  and  do  not  stagger 
through  unbelief. 

But,  alas!  I  fear  that  many  of  you  know  nothing  ex- 
perimentally of  the  exercises  of  a  believing  heart,  which 
I  have  been  describing,  and  consequently  that  Christ  is 
not  precious  to  you.  If  this  is  the  case,  you  may  be 
sure  indeed  you  are  hateful  to  him.  He  is  angry  with 
the  wicked  every  day.  "Them  that  honour  him,  he  will 
honour;  and  them  that  despise  him  shall  be  lightly 


ALL    TRUE    BELIEVERS.  403 

esteemed."  1  Sam.  ii.  30.  And  what  will  you  do  if 
Christ  should  become  your  enemy  and  fight  against  you  ? 
If  this  precious  stone  should  become  a  stone  of  stumbling 
and  a  rock  of  offence  to  you,  over  which  you  will  fall 
into  ruin,  oh  how  dreadful  must  the  fall  be !  What  must 
you  expect  but  to  lie  down  in  unutterable  and  everlasting 


sorrow 


404  THE    DANGER    OF 


SERMON  XV. 

THE    DANGER    OF    LUKEWARMNESS    IN    RELIGION. 

REV.  iii.  15,  16. — I  know  thy  works,  that  thou  art  neither 
cold  nor  hot ;  I  would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot.  So  then, 
because  thou  art  lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I 
will  spew  thee  out  of  my  mouth. 

THE  soul  of  man  is  endowed  with  such  active  powers, 
that  it  cannot  be  idle ;  and,  if  we  look  round  the  world, 
we  see  it  all  alive  and  busy  in  some  pursuit  or  other. 
What  vigorous  action,  what  labour  and  toil,  what  hurry, 
noise,  and  commotion  about  the  necessaries  of  life,  about 
riches  and  honours !  Here  men  are  in  earnest :  here 
there  is  no  dissimulation,  no  indifferency  about  the  event. 
They  sincerely  desire,  and  eagerly  strive  for  these  tran- 
sient delights,  or  vain  embellishments  of  a  mortal  life. 

And  may  we  infer  farther,  that  creatures,  thus  formed 
for  action,  and  thus  laborious  and  unwearied  in  these  infe- 
rior pursuits,  are  proportionably  vigorous  and  in  earnest  in 
matters  of  infinitely  greater  importance?  May  we  con- 
clude, that  they  proportion  their  labour  and  activity  to  the 
nature  of  things,  and  that  they  are  most  in  earnest  where 
they  are  most  concerned?  A  stranger  to  our  world,  that 
could  conclude  nothing  concerning  the  conduct  of  mankind 
but  from  the  generous  presumptions  of  his  own  charitable 
heart,  might  persuade  himself  that  this  is  the  case.  But 
one  that  has  been  but  a  little  while  conversant  with  them, 
and  taken  the  least  notice  of  their  temper  and  practice 


LUKEWARMNESS    IN    RELIGION.  405 

with  regard  to  that  most  interesting  thing,  Religion,  must 
know  it  is  quite  otherwise.  For  look  round  you,  and 
what  do  you  see?  Here  and  there  indeed  you  may  see  a 
few  unfashionable  creatures,  who  act  as  if  they  looked 
upon  religion  to  be  the  most  interesting  concern ;  and  who 
seem  determined,  let  others  do  as  they  will,  to  make  sure 
of  salvation,  whatever  becomes  of  them  in  other  respects ; 
but  as  to  the  generality,  they  are  very  indifferent  about  it. 
They  will  not  indeed  renounce  all  religion  entirely ;  they 
will  make  some  little  profession  of  the  religion  that  hap- 
pens to  be  most  modish  and  reputable  in  their  country, 
and  they  will  conform  to  some  of  its  institutions ;  but  it  is 
a  matter  of  indifferency  with  them,  and  they  are  but  little 
concerned  about  it;  or  in  the  language  of  my  text,  they 
are  lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot. 

This  threatening,  I  will  spew  thee  out  of  my  mouth,  has 
been  long  ago  executed  with  a  dreadful  severity  upon  the 
Laodicean  church ;  and  it  is  now  succeeded  by  a  mongrel 
race  of  Pagans  and  Mahometans ;  and  the  name  of  Christ 
is  not  heard  among  them.  But,  though  this  church  has 
been  demolished  for  so  many  hundreds  of  years,  that  luke- 
warmness  of  spirit  in  religion  which  brought  this  judg- 
ment upon  them,  still  lives,  and  possesses  the  Christians  of 
our  age ;  it  may  therefore  be  expedient  for  us  to  consider 
Christ's  friendly  warning  to  them,  that  we  may  escape 
their  doom. 

The  epistles  to  the  seven  churches  in  Asia  are  intro- 
duced with  this  solemn  and  striking  preface,  "  I  know  thy 
works :"  that  is  to  say,  your  character  is  drawn  by  one  that 
thoroughly  knows  you ;  one  who  inspects  all  your  conduct, 
and  takes  notice  of  you  when  you  take  no  notice  of  your- 
selves ;  one  that  cannot  be  imposed  upon  by  an  empty  pro- 
fession and  artifice,  but  searches  the  heart  and  the  reins.  Oh 
that  this  truth  were  deeply  impressed  upon  our  hearts :  for 


406  THE    DANGER    OF 

surely  we  could  not  trifle  and  offend  while  sensible  that  we 
are  under  the  eye  of  our  Judge ! 

/  know  thy  works,  says  he  to  the  Laodicean  church, 
that  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot.  This  church  was  in  a 
very  bad  condition,  and  Christ  reproves  her  with  the  grav- 
est severity  ;*  and  yet  we  do  not  find  her  charged  with  the 
practice  or  toleration  of  any  gross  immoralities,  as  some 
of  the  other  churches  were.  She  is  not  censured  for  in- 
dulging fornication  among  her  members,  or  communicating 
with  idolaters  in  eating  things  sacrificed  to  idols,  like  some 
of  the  rest.  She  was  free  from  the  infection  of  the  Nico- 
laitans,  which  had  spread  among  them.  What  then  is  her 
charge?  It  is  a  subtle,  latent  wickedness,  that  has  no 
shocking  appearance,  that  makes  no  gross  blemish  in  the 
outward  character  of  a  professor  in  the  view  of  others,  and 
may  escape  his  own  notice ;  it  is,  Thou  art  lukewarm,  and 
neither  cold  nor  not :  as  if  our  Lord  had  said,  Thou  dost 
not  entirely  renounce  and  openly  disregard  the  Christian 
religion,  and  thou  dost  not  make  it  a  serious  business,  and 
mind  it  as  thy  grand  concern.  Thou  hast  a  form  of  god- 
liness, but  deniest  the  power.  All  thy  religion  is  a  dull 
languid  thing,  a  mere  indifferency ;  thine  heart  is  not  in  it ; 
it  is  not  animated  with  the  fervour  of  thy  spirit.  Thou 
hast  neither  the  coldness  of  the  profligate  sinner,  nor  the 
sacred  fire  and  life  of  the  true  Christian ;  but  thou  keep- 
est  a  sort  of  medium  between  them.  In  some  things  thou 
resemblest  the  one,  in  other  things  the  other;  as  luke- 
warmness  partakes  of  the  nature  both  of  heat  and  cold. 

Now  such  a  lukewarmness  is  an  eternal  solecism  in  re- 
ligion ;  it  is  the  most  absurd  and  inconsistent  thing  imagi- 
nable :  more  so  than  avowed  impiety,  or  a  professed  rejec- 

*  She  was  as  loathsome  to  him  as  lukewarm  water  to  the  stomach,  and  ho 
characterizes  her  as  "  wretched,  and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and 
naked."  What  condition  can  be  more  deplorable  and  dangerous? 


LUKEWARMNESS    IN    RELIGION.  407 

tion  of  all  religion :  therefore,  says  Christ,  I  would  thou 
wert  cold  or  hot — i.  e.,  "  You  might  be  any  thing  more 
consistently  than  what  you  are.  If  you  looked  upon  reli- 
gion as  a  cheat,  and  openly  rejected  the  profession  of  it,  it 
would  not  be  strange  that  you  should  be  careless  about  it, 
and  disregard  it  in  practice.  But  to  own  it  true,  and  make 
a  profession  of  it,  and  yet  be  lukewarm  and  indifferent 
about  it,  this  is  the  most  absurd  conduct  that  can  be  con- 
ceived ;  for,  if  it  be  true,  it  is  certainly  the  most  important 
and  interesting  truth  in  all  the  world,  and  requires  the 
utmost  exertion  of  all  your  powers." 

When  Christ  expresses  his  abhorrence  of  lukewarmness 
in  the  form  of  a  wish,  /  would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot,  we 
are  not  to  suppose  his  meaning  to  be,  that  coldness  or  fer- 
vour in  religion  is  equally  acceptable,  or  that  coldness  is 
at  all  acceptable  to  him ;  for  reason  and  revelation  concur 
to  assure  us,  that  the  open  rejection  and  avowed  contempt 
of  religion  is  an  aggravated  wickedness,  as  well  as  an 
hypocritical  profession.  But  our  Lord's  design  is  to  ex- 
press, in  the  strongest  manner  possible,  how  odious  and 
abominable  their  lukewarmness  was  to  him ;  as  if  he  should 
say,  "  Your  state  is  so  bad,  that  you  cannot  change  for  the 
worse ;  I  would  rather  you  were  any  thing  than  what  you 
are."  You  are  ready  to  observe,  that  the  lukewarm  pro- 
fessor is  in  reality  wicked  and  corrupt  at  heart,  a  slave  to 
sin,  and  an  enemy  to  God,  as  well  as  the  avowed  sinner; 
and  therefore  they  are  both  hateful  in  the  sight  of  God, 
and  both  in  a  state  of  condemnation.  But  there  are  some 
aggravations  peculiar  to  the  lukewarm  professor  that  ren- 
der him  peculiarly  odious;  as,  1.  He  adds  the  sin  of  a 
hypocritical  profession  to  his  other  sins.  The  wickedness 
of  real  irreligion,  and  the  wickedness  of  falsely  pretending 
to  be  religious,  meet  and  centre  in  him  at  once.  2.  To 
all  this  he  adds  the  guilt  of  presumption,  pride,  and  self- 


408  THE    DANGER    OF 

flattery,  imagining  he  is  in  a  safe  state  and  in  favour  with 
God;  whereas  he  that  makes  no  pretensions  to  religion, 
has  no  such  umbrage  for  this  conceit  and  delusion.  Thus 
the  miserable  Laodiceans  "thought  themselves  rich,  and 
increased  in  goods,  and  in  need  of  nothing."  3.  Hence 
it  follows,  that  the  lukewarm  professor  is  in  the  most  dan- 
gerous condition,  as  he  is  not  liable  to  conviction,  nor  so 
likely  to  be  brought  to  repentance.  Thus  publicans  and 
harlots  received  the  gospel  more  readily  than  the  self- 
righteous  Pharisees.  4.  The  honour  of  God  and  religion 
is  more  injured  by  the  negligent,  unconscientious  beha- 
viour of  these  Laodiceans,  than  by  the  vices  of  those  who 
make  no  pretensions  to  religion;  with  whom  therefore  its 
honour  has  no  connection.  On  these  accounts  you  see 
lukewarmness  is  more  aggravatedly  sinful  and  dangerous 
than  entire  coldness  about  religion. 

So  then,  says  Christ,  "Because  thou  art  lukewarm^ 
and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  spew  thee  out  of  my 
mouth;"  this  is  their  doom;  as  if  he  should  say,  "As 
lukewarm  water  is  more  disagreeable  to  the  stomach  than 
either  cold  or  hot,  so  you,  of  all  others,  are  the  most 
abominable  to  me.  I  am  quite  sick  of  such  professors, 
and  I  will  cast  them  out  of  my  church,  and  reject  them 
for  ever." 

My  present  design  is  to  expose  the  peculiar  absurdity 
and  wickedness  of  lukewarmness  or  indifferency  in  reli- 
gion ;  a  disease  that  has  spread  its  deadly  contagion  far  and 
wide  among  us,  and  calls  for  a  speedy  cure.  And  let  me 
previously  observe  to  you,  that  if  I  do  not  offer  you  suf- 
ficient arguments  to  convince  your  own  reason  of  the  ab- 
surdity and  wickedness  of  such  a  temper,  then  you  may 
still  indulge  it;  but  that  if  my  arguments  are  sufficient, 
then  shake  off  your  sloth,  and  be  fervent  in  spirit;  and  if 
you  neglect  your  duty,  be  it  at  your  peril. 


LUKEWARMNESS    IN    RELIGION.  409 

In  illustrating  this  point  I  shall  proceed  upon  this  plain 
principle,  "  That  religion  is,  of  all  things,  the  most  impor- 
tant in  itself,  and  the  most  interesting  to  us."  This  we 
cannot  deny,  without  openly  pronouncing  it  an  imposture. 
If  there  be  a  God,  as  religion  teaches  us,  he  is  the  most 
glorious,  the  most  venerable,  and  the  most  lovely  Being; 
and  nothing  can  be  so  important  to  us  as  his  favour,  and 
nothing  so  terrible  as  his  displeasure.  If  he  be  our  Maker, 
our  Benefactor,  our  Lawgiver  and  Judge,  it  must  be  our 
greatest  concern  to  serve  him  with  all  our  might.  If  Jesus 
Christ  be  such  a  Saviour  as  our  religion  represents,  and 
we  profess  to  believe,  he  demands  our  warmest  love  and 
most  lively  service.  If  eternity,  if  heaven  and  hell,  and 
the  final  judgment,  are  realities,  they  are  certainly  the 
most  august,  the  most  awful,  important,  and  interesting 
realities :  and,  in  comparison  of  them,  the  most  weighty 
concerns  of  the  present  life  are  but  trifles,  dreams,  and 
shadows.  If  prayer  and  other  religious  exercises  are  our 
duty,  certainly  they  require  all  the  vigour  of  our  souls ;  and 
nothing  can  be  more  absurd  or  incongruous  than  to  per- 
form them  in  a  languid,  spiritless  manner,  as  if  we  knew 
not  what  we  were  about.  If  there  be  any  life  within  us, 
these  are  proper  objects  to  call  it  forth :  if  our  souls  are 
endowed  with  active  powers,  here  are  objects  that  demand 
their  utmost  exertion.  Here  we  can  never  be  so  much  in 
earnest  as  the  case  requires.  Trifle  about  anything,  but 
oh  do  not  trifle  here !  Be  careless  and  indifferent  about 
crowns  and  kingdoms,  about  health,  life,  and  all  the  world, 
but  oh  be  not  careless  and  indifferent  about  such  immense 
concerns  as  these ! 

But  to  be  more  particular :  let  us  take  a  view  of  a  luke- 
warm temper  in  various  attitudes,  or  with  respect  to  several 
objects,  particularly  towards  God — towards  Jesus  Christ — a 
future  state  of  happiness  or  misery — and  in  the  duties  of 

VOL.  I.— '>2 


410  THE    DANGER    OF 

religion;  and  in  each  of  these  views  we  cannot  but  be 
shocked  at  so  monstrous  a  temper,  especially  if  we  con- 
sider our  difficulties  and  dangers  in  a  religious  life,  and  the 
eagerness  and  activity  of  mankind  in  inferior  pursuits. 

1.  Consider  who  and  what  God  is.  He  is  the  original 
uncreated  beauty,  the  sum  total  of  all  natural  and  moral 
perfections,  the  origin  of  all  the  excellencies  that  are  scat- 
tered through  this  glorious  universe ;  he  is  the  supreme  good, 
and  the  only  proper  portion  for  our  immortal  spirits.  He 
also  sustains  the  most  majestic  and  endearing  relations  to  us : 
our  Father,  our  Preserver  and  Benefactor,  our  Lawgiver  and 
our  Judge.  And  is  such  a  Being  to  be  put  off  with  heartless, 
lukewarm  services  ?  What  can  be  more  absurd, or  impi- 
ous than  to  dishonour  supreme  excellency  and  beauty  with 
a  languid  love  and  esteem ;  to  trifle  in  the  presence  of  the 
most  venerable  Majesty ;  to  treat  the  best  of  Beings  with  in- 
differency ;  to  be  careless  about  our  duty  to  such  a  Father ; 
to  return  such  a  Benefactor  only  insipid  complimental  ex- 
pressions of  gratitude ;  to  be  dull  and  spiritless  in  obedience 
to  such  a  lawgiver ;  and  to  be  indifferent  about  the  favour 
or  displeasure  of  such  a  Judge !  I  appeal  to  heaven  and 
earth,  if  this  be  not  the  most  shocking  conduct  imaginable. 
Does  not  your  reason  pronounce  it  horrid  and  most  dar- 
ingly wicked  ?  And  yet  thus  is  the  great  and  blessed  God 
treated  by  the  generality  of  mankind.  It  is  most  astonish- 
ing that  he  should  bear  with  such  treatment  so  long,  and 
that,  mankind  themselves  are  not  shocked  at  it :  but  such  the 
case  really  is.  And  are  there  not  some  lukewarm  Laodi- 
ceans  in  this  assembly  1  Jesus  knows  your  works,  that 
you  are  neither  cold  nor  hot ;  and  it  is  fit  you  should  also 
know  them.  May  you  not  be  convinced  upon  a  little 
inquiry,  that  your  hearts  are  habitually  indifferent  towards 
God  ?  You  may  indeed  entertain  a  speculative  esteem  or 
a  good  opinion  of  him,  but  are  your  souls  alive  towards 


LUKEWARMNESS    IN    RELIGION.  411 

him  ?  Do  they  burn  with  his  love  ?  and  are  you  fervent 
in  spirit  when  you  are  serving  him  ?  Some  of  you,  I 
hope,  amid  all  your  infirmities,  can  give  comfortable  an- 
swers to  these  inquiries.  But  alas !  how  few !  But  yet 
as  to  such  of  you  as  are  lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor 
hot,  you  are  the  most  abominable  creatures  upon  earth  to 
a  holy  God.  Be  zealous,  be  warm,  therefore,  and  repent. 
(ver.  19.) 

2.  Is  lukewarmness  a  proper  temper  towards  Jesus 
Christ?  Is  this  a  suitable  return  for  that  love  which 
brought  him  down  from  his  native  paradise  into  our 
wretched  world  1  That  love  which  kept  his  mind  for 
thirty-three  painful  and  tedious  years  intent  upon  this  one 
object,  the  salvation  of  sinners?  That  love  "which  ren- 
dered him  cheerfully  patient  of  the  shame,  the  curse,  the 
tortures  of  crucifiction,  and  all  the  agonies  of  the  most 
painful  death  ?  That  love  which  makes  him  the  sinner's 
friend  still  in  the  courts  of  heaven,  where  he  appears  as 
our  prevailing  Advocate  and  Intercessor  ?  Blessed  Jesus ! 
is  lukewarmness  a  proper  return  to  thee  for  all  this  kind- 
ness ?  No ;  methinks  devils  cannot  treat  thee  worse. 
My  fellow-mortals,  my  fellow-sinners,  who  are  the  objects 
of  all  this  love,  can  you  put  him  off  with  languid  devotions 
and  faint  services  ?  Then  every  grateful  and  generous 
passion  is  extinct  in  your  souls,  and  you  are  qualified  to 
venture  upon  every  form  of  ingratitude  and  baseness.  Oh 
was  Christ  indifferent  about  your  salvation  ?  Was  his  love 
lukewarm  towards  you  ?  No  :  your  salvation  was  the  ob- 
ject of  his  most  intense  application  night  and  day  through 
the  whole  course  of  his  life,  and  it  lay  nearest  his  heart  in 
the  agonies  of  death.  For  this  he  had  a  baptism  to  be 
baptized  with,  a  baptism,  an  immersion  in  tears  and  blood; 
and  how  am  I  straitened,  says  he,  till  it  be  accomplished  ! 
For  this  with  desire,  he  desired  to  eat  his  last  passover, 


412  THE    DANGER    OF 

because  it  introduced  the  last  scene  of  his  sufferings.  His 
love !  what  shall  I  say  of  it  ?  What  language  can  describe 
its  strength  and  ardour  1  "  His  love  was  strong  as  death  : 
the  coals  thereof  were  as  coals  of  fire,  which  had  a  most 
vehement  flame :  many  waters  could  not  quench  it,  nor  the 
floods  drown  it."  Cant.  viii.  6,  7.  Never  did  a  tender 
mother  love  her  sucking  child  with  a  love  equal  to  his. 
Never  was  a  father  more  anxious  to  rescue  an  only  son 
from  the  hands  of  a  murderer,  or  to  pluck  him  out  of  the 
fire  than  Jesus  was  to  save  perishing  sinners.  Now  to 
neglect  him  after  all ;  to  forget  him ;  or  to  think  of  him 
with  indifferency,  as  though  he  were  a  being  of  but  little 
importance,  and  we  but  little  obliged  to  him,  what  is  all 
this  but  the  most  unnatural,  barbarous  ingratitude,  and  the 
most  shocking  wickedness  ?  Do  you  not  expect  everlast- 
ing happiness  from  him  purchased  at  the  expense  of  his 
blood  ?  And  can  you  hope  for  such  an  immense  blessing 
from  him  without  feeling  yourselves  most  sensibly  obliged 
to  him  ?  Can  you  hope  he  will  do  so  much  for  you,  and 
can  you  be  content  to  do  nothing  for  him,  or  to  go  through 
his  service  with  lukewarmness  and  languor,  as  if  you  cared 
not  how  you  hurried  through  it,  or  how  little  you  had  to 
do  with  it1?  Can  anything  be  more  absurd  or  impious 
than  this  ?  Methinks  you  may  defy  hell  to  show  a  worse 
temper.  May  not  Christ  justly  wish  you  were  either  cold 
or  hot ;  wish  you  were  anything  rather  than  thus  lukewarm 
towards  him  under  a  profession  of  friendship  ?  Alas !  my 
brethren,  if  this  be  your  habitual  temper,  instead  of  being 
saved  by  him,  you  may  expect  he  will  reject  you  with  the 
most  nauseating  disgust  and  abhorrence.  But, 

3.  Is  lukewarmness  and  indifferency  a  suitable  temper 
with  respect  to  a  future  state  of  happiness  or  misery  ?  Is 
it  a  suitable  temper  with  respect  to  a  happiness  far  exceed- 
ing the  utmost  bounds  of  our  present  thoughts  and  wishes; 


LUKEWARMNESS    IN    RELIGION.  413 

a  happiness  equal  to  the  largest  capacities  of  our  souls  in 
their  most  improved  and  perfect  state ;  a  happiness  beyond 
the  grave,  when  all  the  enjoyments  of  this  transitory  life 
have  taken  an  eternal  flight  from  us,  and  leave  us  hungry 
and  famishing  for  ever,  if  these  be  our  only  portion ;  a 
happiness  that  will  last  as  long  as  our  immortal  spirits,  and 
never  fade  or  fly  from  us  ?  Or  are  lukewarmness  and  in- 
diflferency  a  suitable  temper  with  respect  to  a  misery  beyond 
expression,  beyond  conception  dreadful ;  a  misery  inflicted 
by  a  God  of  almighty  power  and  inexorable  justice  upon  a 
number  of  obstinate,  incorrigible  rebels  for  numberless,  wilful 
and  daring  provocations,  inflicted  on  purpose  to  show  his 
wrath  and  make  his  power  known ;  a  misery  proceeding  from 
the  united  fury  of  divine  indignation,  of  turbulent  passions, 
of  a  guilty  conscience,  of  malicious  tormenting  devils ;  a 
misery  (who  can  bear  up  under  the  horror  of  the  thought?) 
that  shall  last  as  long  as  the  eternal  God  shall  live  to  in- 
flict it;  as  long  as  sin  shall  continue  evil  to  deserve  it;  as 
long  as  an  immortal  spirit  shall  endure  to  bear  it ;  a  misery 
that  shall  never  be  mitigated,  never  intermitted,  never, 
never,  never  see  an  end?  And  remember,  that  a  state  of 
happiness  or  misery  is  not  far  remote  from  us,  but  near 
us,  just  before  us ;  the  next  year,  the  next  hour,  or  the 
next  moment,  we  may  enter  into  it;  is  a  state  for  which 
we  are  now  candidates,  now  upon  trial ;  now  our  eternal 
all  lies  at  stake ;  and  oh,  sirs,  does  an  inactive,  careless  pos- 
ture become  us  in  such  a  situation?  Is  a  state  of  such 
happiness,  or  such  misery,  is  such  a  state  just — just  before 
us,  a  matter  of  indifferency  to  us?  Oh  can  you  be  luke- 
warm about  such  matters?  Was  ever  such  a  prodigious 
stupidity  seen  under  the  canopy  of  heaven,  or  even  in  the 
regions  of  hell,  which  abound  with  monstrous  and  horrid 
dispositions  ?  No ;  the  hardiest  ghost  below  cannot  make 
light  of  these  things.  Mortals !  can  you  trifle  about  them  ? 


414  THE    DANGER    OF 

Well,  trifle  a  little  longer,  and  your  trifling  will  be  over, 
for  ever.  You  may  be  indifferent  about  the  improving 
of  your  time ;  but  time  is  not  indifferent  whether  to  pass 
by  or  not :  it  is  determined  to  continue  its  rapid  course, 
and  hurry  you  into  the  ocean  of  eternity,  though  you 
should  continue  sleeping  and  dreaming  through  all  the  pas- 
sage. Therefore  awake,  arise;  exert  yourselves  before 
your  doom  be  unchangeably  fixed.  If  you  have  any  fire 
within  you,  here  let  it  burn ;  if  you  have  any  active  powers, 
here  let  them  be  exerted ;  here  or  nowhere,  and  on  no 
occasion.  Be  active,  be  in  earnest  where  you  should  be ; 
or  debase  or  -sink  yourselves  into  stocks  and  stones,  and 
escape  the  curse  of  being  reasonable  and  active  creatures. 
Let  the  criminal,  condemned  to  die  to-morrow,  be  indif- 
ferent about  a  reprieve  or  a  pardon ;  let  a  drowning  man 
be  careless  about  catching  at  the  only  plank  that  can  save 
him :  but  oh  do  not  you  be  careless  and  indifferent  about 
eternity,  and  such  amazing  realities  as  heaven  and  hell. 
If  you  disbelieve  these  things  you  are  infidels;  if  you  be- 
lieve these  things,  and  yet  are  unaffected  with  them,  you 
are  worse  than  infidels :  you  are  a  sort  of  shocking  singu- 
larities, and  prodigies  in  nature.  Not  hell  itself  can  find 
a  precedent  of  such  a  conduct.  The  devils  believe,  and 
tremble;  you  believe,  and  trifle  with  things  whose  very 
name  strikes  solemnity  and  awe  through  heaven  and  hell. 
But, 

4.  Let  us  see  how  this  lukewarm  temper  agrees  with 
the  duties  of  religion.  And  as  I  cannot  particularize  them 
all,  I  shall  only  mention  an  instance  or  two.  View  a  luke- 
warm professor  in  prayer ;  he  pays  to  an  omniscient  God 
the  compliment  of  a  bended  knee,  as  though  he  could  im- 
pose upon  him  with  such  an  empty  pretence.  When  he 
is  addressing  the  Supreme  Majesty  of  heaven  and  earth,  he 
hardly  ever  recollects  in  whose  presence  he  is,  or  whom 


LUKEWARMNESS    IN    RELIGION.  415 

he  is  speaking  to,  but  seems  as  if  he  were  worshipping 
without  an  object,  or  pouring  out  empty  words  into  the 
air :  perhaps  through  the  whole  prayer  he  had  not  so  much 
as  one  solemn,  affecting  thought  of  that  God  whose  name 
he  so  often  invoked.  Here  is  a  criminal  petitioning  for 
pardon  so  carelessly,  that  he  scarcely  knows  what  he  is 
about.  Here  is  a  needy,  famishing  beggar  pleading  for 
such  immense  blessings  as  everlasting  salvation,  and  all  the 
joys  of  heaven,  so  lukewarmly  and  thoughtlessly,  as  if  he 
cared  not  whether  his  requests  were  granted  or  not.  Here 
is  an  obnoxious  offender  confessing  his  sins  with  a  heart 
untouched  with  sorrow  :  worshipping  the  living  God  with  a 
dead  heart ;  making  great  requests,  but  he  forgets  them  as 
soon  as  he  rises  from  his  knees,  and  is  not  at  all  inquisitive 
what  becomes  of  them,  and  whether  they  were  accepted 
or  not.  And  can  there  be  a  more  shocking,  impious,  and 
daring  conduct  than  this?  To  trifle  in  the  royal  presence 
would  not  be  such  an  audacious  affront.  For  a  criminal 
to  catch  flies,  or  sport  with  a  feather,  when  pleading  with 
his  judge  for  his  pardon,  would  be  but  a  faint  shadow  of 
such  religious  trifling.  What  are  such  prayers  but  solemn 
mockeries  and  disguised  insults?  And  yet,  is  not  this  the 
usual  method  in  which  many  of  you  address  the  great  God  ? 
The  words  proceed  no  further  than  from  your  tongue :  you 
do  not  pour  them  out  from  the  bottom  of  your  hearts ; 
they  have  no  life  or  spirit  in  them,  and  you  hardly  ever 
reflect  upon  their  meaning.  And  when  you  have  talked 
away  to  God  in  this  manner,  you  will  have  it  to  pass  for  a 
prayer.  But  surely  such  prayers  must  bring  down  a  curse 
upon  you  instead  of  a  blessing :  such  sacrifices  must  be  an 
abomination  to  the  Lord  :  Prov.  xv.  8 ;  and  it  is  astonish- 
ing that  he  has  not  mingled  your  blood  with  your  sacri- 
fices, and  sent  you  from  your  knees  to  hell ;  from  thought- 
less, unmeaning  prayer,  to  real  blasphemy  and  torture. 


416  THE    DANGER    OF 

The  next  instance  I  shall  mention  is  with  regard  to  the 
word  of  God.  You  own  it  divine,  you  profess  it  the 
standard  of  your  religion,  and  the  most  excellent  book  in 
the  world.  Now,  if  this  be  the  case,  it  is  God  that  speaks 
to  you ;  it  is  God  that  sends  you  an  epistle  when  you  are 
reading  or  hearing  his  word.  How  impious  and  provok- 
ing then  must  it  be  to  neglect  it,  to  let  it  lie  by  you  as  an 
antiquated,  useless  book,  or  to  read  it  in  a  careless,  super- 
ficial manner,  and  hear  it  with  an  inattentive,  wandering 
mind?  How  would  you  take  it,  if,  when  you  spoke  to 
your  servant  about  his  own  interest,  he  should  turn  away 
from  you,  and  not  regard  you?  Or  if  you  should  write  a 
letter  to  your  son,  and  he  should  not  so  much  as  carefully 
read  it,  or  labour  to  understand  it?  And  do  not  some  of 
you  treat  the  sacred  oracles  in  this  manner?  You  make 
but  little  use  of  your  Bible,  but  to  teach  your  children  to 
read :  or  if  you  read  or  hear  its  contents  yourselves,  are 
you  not  unaffected  with  them?  One  would  think  you 
would  be  all  attention  and  reverence  to  every  word ;  you 
would  drink  it  in,  and  thirst  for  it  as  new-born  babes  for 
their  mother's  milk,  you  would  feel  its  energy,  and  acquire 
the  character  of  that  happy  man  to  whom  the  God  of 
heaven  vouchsafes  to  look;  you  would  tremble  at  his 
word.  It  reveals  the  only  method  of  your  salvation :  it 
contains  the  only  charter  of  all  your  blessings.  In  short, 
you  have  the  nearest  personal  interest  in  it,  and  can  you 
be  unconcerned  hearers  of  it  ?  I  am  sure  your  reason  and 
conscience  must  condemn  such  stupidity  and  indifferency 
as  incongruous,  and  outrageously  wicked. 

And  now  let  me  remind  you  of  the  observation  I  made 
when  entering  upon  this  subject,  that  if  I  should  not  offer 
sufficient  matter  of  conviction,  you  might  go  on  in  your 
lukewarmness ;  but  if  your  own  reason  should  be  fully 
convinced  that  such  a  temper  is  most  wicked  and  unrea- 


LUKEWARMNESS    IN    RELIGION.  417 

sonable,  then  you  might  indulge  at  your  peril.  What  do 
you  say  now  is  the  issue?  Ye  modern  Laodiceans,  are 
you  not  yet  struck  with  horror  at  the  thought  of  that  in- 
sipid, formal,  spiritless  religion  you  have  hitherto  been  con- 
tented with  ?  And  do  you  not  see  the  necessity  of  follow- 
ing the  advice  of  Christ  to  the  Laodicean  church,  be  zeal- 
ous, be  fervent  for  the  future,  and  repent,  bitterly  repent 
of  what  is  past?  To  urge  this  the  more,  I  have  two  con- 
siderations in  reserve,  of  no  small  weight.  1.  Consider 
the  difficulties  and  dangers  in  your  way.  Oh,  sirs,  if  you 
know  the  difficulty  of  the  work  of  your  salvation,  and  the 
great  danger  of  miscarrying  in  it,  you  could  not  be  so  in- 
different about  it,  nor  could  you  flatter  yourselves  such 
languid  endeavours  will  ever  succeed.  It  is  a  labour,  a 
striving,  a  race,  a  warfare;  so  it  is  called  in  the  sacred 
writings :  but  would  there  be  any  propriety  in  these  ex- 
pressions, if  it  were  a  course  of  sloth  and  inactivity? 
Consider,  you  have  strong  lusts  to  be  subdued,  a  hard 
heart  to  be  broken,  a  variety  of  graces,  which  you  are  en- 
tirely destitute  of,  to  be  implanted  and  cherished,  and  that 
in  an  unnatural  soil,  where  they  will  not  grow  without 
careful  cultivation,  and  that  you  have  many  temptations  to 
be  encountered  and  resisted.  In  short,  you  must  be  made 
new  men,  quite  other  creatures  than  you  now  are.  And 
oh !  can  this  work  be  successfully  performed  while  you 
make  such  faint  and  feeble  efforts?  Indeed  God  is  the 
Agent,  and  all  your  best  endeavours  can  never  effect  the 
blessed  revolution  without  him.  But  his  assistance  is  not 
to  be  expected  in  the  neglect,  or  careless  use  of  means, 
nor  is  it  intended  to  encourage  idleness,  but  activity  and 
labour :  and  when  he  comes  to  work,  he  will  soon  inflame 
your  hearts,  and  put  an  end  to  your  lukewarmness.  Again, 
your  dangers  are  also  great  and  numerous;  you  are  in 
danger  from  presumption  and  from  despondency;  from 

VOL.  I.— 53 

> 


418  THE    DANGER    O7 

coldness,  from  lukewarmness,  and  from  false  fires  and  en- 
thusiastic heats;  in  danger  from  self-righteousness,  and 
from  open  wickedness,  from  your  own  corrupt  hearts, 
from  this  ensnaring  world,  and  from  the  temptations  of 
the  devil :  you  are  in  great  danger  of  sleeping  on  in  secu- 
rity, without  ever  being  thoroughly  awakened;  or,  if  you 
should  be  awakened,  you  are  in  danger  of  resting  short  of 
vital  religion ;  and  in  either  of  these  cases  you  are  undone 
for  ever.  In  a  word,  dangers  crowd  thick  around  you 
on  every  hand,  from  every  quarter;  dangers,  into  which 
thousands,  millions  of  your  fellow-men  have  fallen  and 
never  recovered.  Indeed,  all  things  considered,  it  is  very 
doubtful  whether  ever  you  will  be  saved,  who  are  now 
lukewarm  and  secure :  I  do  not  mean  that  your  success  is 
uncertain  if  you  be  brought  to  use  means  with  proper 
earnestness ;  but  alas !  it  is  awfully  uncertain  whether  ever 
you  will  be  brought  to  use  them  in  this  manner.  And, 
O  sirs !  can  you  continue  secure  and  inactive  when  you 
have  such  difficulties  to  encounter  with  in  a  work  of  abso- 
lute necessity,  and  when  you  are  surrounded  with  so  many 
and  so  great  dangers  1  Alas !  are  you  capable  of  such  de- 
structive madness?  Oh  that  you  knew  the  true  state  of 
the  case !  Such  a  knowledge  would  soon  fire  you  with 
the  greatest  ardour,  and  make  you  all  life  and  vigour  in 
this  important  work. 

2.  Consider  how  earnest  and  active  men  are  in  other 
pursuits.  Should  we  form  a  judgment  of  the  faculties  of 
human  nature  by  the  conduct  of  the  generality  in  religion, 
we  should  be  apt  to  conclude  that  men  are  mere  snails, 
and  that  they  have  no  active  powers  belonging  to  them. 
But  view  them  about  other  affairs,  and  you  find  they  are 
all  life,  fire,  and  hurry.  What  labour  and  toil!  what 
schemes  and  contrivances !  what  solicitude  about  success ! 
what  fears  of  disappointment!  hands,  heads,  hearts,  all 


LUKEWARMNESS    IN    RELIGION.  419 

busy.  And  all  this  to  procure  those  enjoyments  which  at 
best  they  cannot  long  retain,  and  which  the  next  hour 
may  tear  from  them.  To  acquire  a  name  or  a  diadem,  to 
obtain  riches  or  honours,  what  hardships  are  undergone ! 
what  dangers  dared !  what  rivers  of  blood  shed !  how 
many  millions  of  lives  have  been  lost!  and  how  many 
more  endangered!  In  short  the  world  is  all  alive,  all  in 
motion  with  business.  On  sea  and  land,  at  home  and 
abroad,  you  will  find  men  eagerly  pursuing  some  temporal 
good.  They  grow  grey-headed,  and  die  in  the  attempt 
without  reaching  their  end;  but  this  disappointment  does 
not  discourage  the  survivors  and  successors;  still  they  will 
continue,  or  renew  the  endeavour.  Now  here  men  act 
like  themselves;  and  they  show  they  are  alive,  and  en- 
dowed with  powers  of  great  activity.  And  shall  they  be 
thus  zealous  and  laborious  in  the  pursuit  of  earthly  vanities, 
and  quite  indifferent  and  sluggish  in  the  infinitely  more 
important  concerns  of  eternity  ?  What !  solicitous  about  a 
mortal  body,  but  careless  about  an  immortal  soul !  Eager 
in  pursuit  of  joys  of  a  few  years,  but  careless  and  remiss 
in  seeking  an  immortality  of  perfect  happiness!  Anxious 
to  avoid  poverty,  shame,  sickness,  pain,  and  all  the  evils, 
real  or  imaginary,  of  the  present  life ;  but  indifferent  about 
a  whole  eternity  of  the  most  intolerable  misery !  Oh,  the 
destructive  folly,  the  daring  wickedness  of  such  a  conduct ! 
My  brethren,  is  religion  the  only  thing  which  demands 
the  utmost  exertion  of  all  your  powers,  and  alas !  is  that 
the  only  thing  in  which  you  will  be  dull  and  inactive  ?  Is 
everlasting  happiness  the  only  thing  about  which  you  will 
be  remiss?  Is  eternal  punishment  the  only  misery  which 
you  are  indifferent  whether  you  escape  or  not?  Is  God 
the  only  good  which  you  pursue  with  faint  and  lazy  de- 
sires? How  preposterous !  how  absurd  is  this !  You  can 
love  the  world,  you  can  love  a  father,  a  child,  or  a  friend; 


420  THE  DANGER  OF 

nay,  you  can  love  that  abominable,  hateful  thing,  sin :  these 
you  can  love  with  ardour,  serve  with  pleasure,  pursue  with 
eagerness,  and  with  all  your  might;  but  the  ever-blessed 
God,  and  the  Lord  Jesus,  your  best  friend,  you  put  off 
with  a  lukewarm  heart  and  spiritless  services.  Oh  inex- 
pressibly monstrous!  Lord,  what  is  this  that  has  befallen 
thine  own  offspring,  that  they  are  so  disaffected  towards 
thee?  Blessed  Jesus,  what  hast  thou  done  that  thou 
shouldst  be  treated  thus  ?  Oh  sinners !  what  will  be  the 
consequence  of  such  a  conduct  ?  Will  that  God  take  you 
into  the  bosom  of  his  love?  Will  that  Jesus  save  you  by 
his  blood,  whom  you  make  so  light  of?  No,  you  may  go 
and  seek  a  heaven  where  you  can  find  it;  for  God  will 
give  you  none.  Go,  shift  for  yourselves,  or  look  out  for 
a  Saviour  where  you  will;  Jesus  will  have  nothing  to  do 
with  you,  except  to  take  care  to  inflict  proper  punishment 
upon  you  if  you  retain  this  lukewarm  temper  towards  him. 
Hence,  by  way  of  improvement,  learn, 

1.  The  vanity  and  wickedness  of  a  lukewarm  religion. 
Though  you  should  profess  the  best  religion  that  ever 
came  from  heaven,  it  will  not  save  you;  nay,  it  will  con- 
demn you  with  peculiar  aggravations  if  you  are  lukewarm 
in  it.     This  spirit  of  indifferency  diffused  through  it,  turns 
it  all  into  deadly  poison.     Your  religious  duties  are  all 
abominable  to  God  while  the  vigour  of  your  spirits  is  not 
exerted  in  them.     Your  prayers  are  insults,  and  he  will 
answer  them  as  such  by  terrible  things  in  righteousness. 
And  do  any  of  you  hope  to  be  saved  by  such  a  religion? 
I  tell  you  from  the  God  of  truth,  it  will  be  so  far  from 
saving  you,  that  it  will  certainly  ruin  you  for  ever:  con- 
tinue as  you  are  to  the  last,  and  you  will  be  as  certainly 
damned  to  all  eternity,  as  Judas,  or  Beelzebub,  or  any 
ghost  in  hell.     But  alas! 

2.  How  common,  how  fashionable   is  this   lukewarm 


LtTKEWARMNESS    IN    RELIGION.  421 

religion!  This  is  the  prevailing,  epidemical  sin  of  our 
age  and  country;  and  it  is  well  if  it  has  not  the  same  fatal 
effect  upon  us  it  had  upon  Laodicea;  Laodicea  lost  its 
liberty,  its  religion,  and  its  all.  Therefore  let  Virginia 
hear  and  fear,  and  do  no  more  so  wickedly.  We  have 
thousands  of  Christians,  such  as  they  are ;  as  many  Chris- 
tians as  white  men;  but  alas!  they  are  generally  of  the 
Laodicean  stamp ;  they  are  neither  cold  nor  hot.  But  it 
is  our  first  concern  to  know  how  it  is  with  ourselves; 
therefore  let  this  inquiry  go  round  this  congregation ;  are 
you  not  such  lukewarm  Christians  ?  Is  there  any  fire  and 
life  in  your  devotions  ?  Or  are  not  all  your  active  powers 
engrossed  by  other  pursuits  ?  Impartially  make  the  in- 
quiry, for  infinitely  more  depends  upon  it  than  upon  your 
temporal  life. 

3.  If  you  have  hitherto  been  possessed  with  this  Lao- 
dicean spirit,  I  beseech  you  indulge  it  no  longer.  You 
have  seen  that  it  mars  all  your  religion,  and  will  end  in 
your  eternal  ruin:  and  I  hope  you  are  not  so  hardened  as 
to  be  proof  against  the  energy  of  this  consideration. 
Why  halt  you  so  long  between  two  opinions  ?  J  would 
you  were  cold  or  hot.  Either  make  thorough  work  of  re- 
ligion, or  do  not  pretend  to  it.  Why  should  you  profess 
a  religion  which  is  but  an  insipid  indifferency  with  you  ? 
Such  a  religion  is  good  for  nothing.  Therefore  awake, 
arise,  exert  yourselves.  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait 
gate ;  strive  earnestly,  or  you  are  shut  out  for  ever.  In- 
fuse heart  and  spirit  into  your  religion.  Whatever  your 
hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  your  might.  Now,  this 
moment,  while  my  voice  sounds  in  your  ears,  now  begin 
the  vigorous  enterprise.  Now  collqct  all  the  vigour  of 
your  souls  and  breathe  it  out  in  such  a  prayer  as  this, 
"  Lord,  fire  this  heart  with  thy  love."  Prayer  is  a  proper 
introduction:  for  let  me  remind  you  of  what  I  should 


422       THE  DANGER  OF  LUKEWARMNESS  IN  RELIGION. 

never  forget,  that  God  is  the  only  Author  of  this  sacred 
fire;  it  is  only  he  that  can  quicken  you;  therefore,  ye 
poor  careless  creatures,  fly  to  him  in  an  agony  of  im- 
portunity, and  never  desist,  never  grow  weary  till  you 
prevail. 

4.  And  lastly :  Let  the  best  of  us  lament  our  lukewarm- 
ness,  and  earnestly  seek  more  fervour  of  spirit.  Some  of 
you  have  a  little  life ;  you  enjoy  some  warm  and  vigorous 
moments ;  and  oh !  they  are  divinely  sweet.  But  reflect 
how  soon  your  spirits  flag,  your  devotion  cools,  and  your 
zeal  languishes.  Think  of  this,  and  be  humble :  think  of 
this,  and  apply  for  more  life.  You  know  where  to  apply. 
Christ  is  your  life :  therefore  cry  to  him  for  the  communi- 
cation of  it.  "  Lord  Jesus !  a  little  more  life,  a  little  more 
vital  heat  to  a  languishing  soul."  Take  this  method,  and 
"you  shall  run  and  not  be  weary;  you  shall  walk  and  not 
faint."  Isaiah  xl.  31. 


DIVINE  GOVERNMENT  THE  JOY  OF  OUR  WORLD.       423 


SERMON  XVI. 

THE    DIVINE    GOVERNMENT    THE    JOY    OF    OUR    WORLD. 

PSALM  xcvii.  1. — The  LORD  reigneth;  let  the  earth  rejoice  ; 
let  the  multitude  of  isles  be  glad  thereof. 

WISE  and  good  rulers  are  justly  accounted  an  extensive 
blessing  to  their  subjects.  In  a  government  where  wisdom 
sits  at  the  helm;  and  justice,  tempered  with  clemency, 
holds  the  balance  of  retribution,  liberty  and  property  are 
secured,  encroaching  ambition  is  checked,  helpless  inno- 
cence is  protected,  and  universal  order  is  established,  and 
consequently  peace  and  happiness  diffuse  their  streams 
through  the  land.  In  such  a  situation  every  heart  must 
rejoice,  every  countenance  look  cheerful,  and  every  bosom 
glow  with  gratitude  to  the  happy  instruments  of  such  ex^ 
tended  beneficence. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  "Wo  to  thee,  oh  land,  when 
thy  king  is  a  child,"  Eccles.  x.  16 ;  weak,  injudicious, 
humorsome,  and  peevish.  This  is  the  denunciation  of 
Solomon,  a  sage  philosopher,  and  an  opulent  king,  whose 
station,  capacity,  and  inclination,  conspired  to  give  him  the 
deepest  skill  in  politics:  and  this  denunciation  has  been 
accomplished  in  every  age.  Empires  have  fallen,  liberty 
has  been  fettered,  property  has  been  invaded,  the  lives  of 
men  have  been  arbitrarily  taken  away,  and  misery  and 
desolation  have  broken  in  like  a  flood,  when  the  govern- 
ment has  been  entrusted  in  the  hands  of  tyranny,  of  luxury, 


424  THE    DIVINE    GOVERNMENT 

or  rashness;  and  the  advantages  of  climate  and  soil,  and 
all  others  which  nature  could  bestow,  have  not  been  able 
to  make  the  subjects  happy  under  the  baleful  influence  of 
such  an  administration. 

It  has  frequently  been  the  unhappy  fate  of  nations  to  be 
enslaved  to  such  rulers ;  but  such  is  the  unavoidable  im- 
perfection of  all  human  governments,  that  when,  like  our 
own,  they  are  managed  by  the  best  hands,  they  are  attended 
with  many  calamities,  and  cannot  answer  several  valuable 
ends;  and  from  both  these  considerations  we  may  infer 
the  necessity  of  a  divine  government  over  the  whole  uni- 
verse and  particularly  over  the  earth,  in  which  we  are 
more  especially  concerned.  Without  this  supreme  uni- 
versal Monarch,  the  affairs  of  this  world  would  fall  into 
confusion ;  and  the  concerns  of  the  next  could  not  be 
managed  at  all.  The  capacities  of  the  wisest  of  men  are 
scanty,  and  not  equal  to  all  the  purposes  of  government; 
and  hence  many  affairs  of  importance  will  be  unavoidably 
misconducted ;  and  dangerous  plots  and  aggravated  crimes 
may  be  undiscovered  for  want  of  knowledge,  or  pass  un- 
punished for  want  of  power.  A  wise  and  good  ruler  may 
be  diffusing  among  his  subjects  all  that  happiness  which 
can  result  from  the  imperfect  administration  of  mortals, 
but  he  may  be  tumbled  from  his  throne,  and  his  govern- 
ment thrown  into  the  greatest  disorder  by  a  more  powerful 
invader ;  so  that  the  best  ruler  could  not  make  his  subjects 
lastingly  happy,  unless  he  were  universal  monarch  of  the 
globe  (a  province  too  great  for  any  mortal)  and  above  the 
reach  of  the  ambitious  power  of  others.  Further,  human 
dominion  cannot  extend  to  the  souls  and  consciences 
of  men  :  civil  rulers  can  neither  know  nor  govern,  them  ; 
and  yet  these  must  be  governed  and  brought  into  subjec- 
tion to  the  eternal  laws  of  reason,  otherwise  tranquil- 
lity cannot  subsist  on  earth ;  and  especially  the  great  pur- 


THE    JOY    OF    OUR    WORLD.  425 

poses   of  religion,  which  regard  a  future  state,  cannot  be 
answered. 

Men  are  placed  here  to  be  formed  by  a  proper  educa- 
tion for  another  world,  for  another  class,  and  other  em- 
ployments; but  civil  rulers  cannot  form  them  for  these 
important  ends,  and  therefore  they  must  be  under  the  go- 
venment  of  one  who  has  access  to  their  spirits,  and  can 
manage  them  as  he  pleases. 

Deeply  impressed  with  these  and  other  considerations, 
which  shall  be  presently  mentioned,  the  Psalmist  is  trans- 
ported into  this  reflection,  "The  LORD  reigneth;  let 
the  earth  rejoice ;  let  the  multitude  of  isles  be  glad 
thereof." 

The  Psalmist  seems  to  have  the  mediatorial  empire  of 
grace  erected  by  Immanuel  more  immediately  in  view;  and 
this  indeed  deserves  our  special  notice ;  but  no  doubt  he 
included  the  divine  government  in  general,  which  is  a  just 
ground  of  universal  joy ;  and  in  this  latitude  I  shall  con- 
sider the  text. 

Persons  in  a  transport  are  apt  to  speak  abruptly,  and 
omit  the  particles  of  connection  and  inference  usual  in 
calm  reasoning.  Thus  the  Psalmist  cries  out,  "  The  LORD 
reigneth;  let  the  earth  rejoice;  let  the  multitude  of 
isles  be  glad  thereof!"  but  if  we  reduce  the  passage  into 
an  argumentative  form,  it  will  stand  thus,  "  The  Lord 
reigneth;  therefore  let  the  earth  rejoice;  and  let  the  mul- 
titude of  isles  be  glad  upon  this  account." 

The  earth  may  here  signify  by  an  usual  metonymy, 
the  rational  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  who  are  especially 
concerned  in  the  divine  government ;  or,  by  a  beautiful 
poetical  prosopopoeia,  it  may  signify  the  inanimate  globe 
of  the  earth,  and  then  it  intimates  that  the  divine  govern- 
ment is  so  important  a  blessing,  that  even  the  inanimate 
and  senseless  creation  would  rejoice  in  it,  were  it  capable 

VOL.  I 54 


426  THE   DIVINE    GOVERNMENT 

of  such  passions.*  The  isles  may  likewise  be  taken  figura- 
tively for  their  inhabitants,  particularly  the  Gentiles,  who 
resided  in  them ;  or  literally  for  tracts  of  land  surrounded 
with  water. 

My  present  design  is 

To  illustrate  this  glorious  truth,  that  Jehovah's  supreme 
government  is  a  just  cause  of  universal  joy. 

For  that  end  I  shall  consider  the  divine  government  in 
various  views,  as  legislative,  providential,  mediatorial,  and 
judicial ;  and  show  that  in  each  of  these  views  the  divine 
government  is  matter  of  universal  joy. 

I.  The  Lord  reigneth  upon  a  throne  of  legislation. 
"  Let  the  earth  rejoice ;  let  the  multitude  of  isles  be  glad 
thereof." 

He  is  the  one  supreme  Lawgiver,  James  iv,  12,  and  is 
perfectly  qualified  for  that  important  trust.  Nothing  tends 
more  to  the  advantage  of  civil  society  than  to  have  good 
laws  established,  according  to  which  mankind  are  to  con- 
duct themselves,  and  according  to  which  their  rulers  will 
deal  with  them.  Now  the  supreme  and  universal  king  has 
enacted  and  published  the  best  laws  for  the  government  of 
the  moral  world,  and  of  the  human  race  in  particular. 

Let  the  earth  then  rejoice  that  God  has  clearly  revealed 
his  will  to  us,  and  not  left  us  in  inextricable  perplexities 
about  our  duty  to  him  and  mankind.  Human  reason,  or 
the  light  of  nature,  gives  us  some  intimations  of  the  duties 
of1  morality,  even  in  our  degenerate  state,  and  for  this  infor- 
mation we  should  bless  God ;  but  alas !  these  discoveries 
are  very  imperfect,  and  we  need  supernatural  revelation  to 
make  known  to  us  the  way  of  life.  Accordingly,  the 
Lord  has  favoured  us  with  the  sacred  oracles  as  a  supple- 

*  By  the  same  figure  the  inanimate  parts  of  the  creation  are  called  upon 
to  praise  the  Lord,  Psalm  cxlviii.,  and  are  said  to  travail  and  groan  under 
the  sin  of  man. — Bom.  viii.  22. 


THE    JOY    OF    OUR    WORLD.  427 

ment  to  the  feeble  light  of  nature ;  and  in  them  we  are 
fully  "  taught  what  is  good,  and  what  the  law  requireth  of 
us."  And  what  cause  of  joy  is  this  !  How  painful  are 
the  anxieties  that  attend  uncertainty  about  matters  of  duty ! 
How  distressing  a  doubtful,  fluctuating  mind,  in  an  affair  of 
such  tremendous  importance!  This,  no  doubt,  some  of 
you  that  are  conscientious  have  had  the  experience  of,  in 
particular  cases,  when  you  were  at  a  loss  to  apply  to  them 
the  general  directions  in  sacred  Scripture. 

Again,    "  let   the   earth   rejoice ;  let  the  multitude  of 

isles  be  glad,"  that  these  laws  are  suitably  enforced  with 
proper  sanctions.  The  sanctions  are  such  as  become  a 
God  of  infinite  wisdom,  almighty  power,  inexorable  justice, 
untainted  holiness,  and  unbounded  goodness  and  grace, 
and  such  as  are  agreeable  to  the  nature  of  reasonable  crea- 
tures formed  for  an  immortal  duration.  The  rewards  of 
obedience  in  the  divine  legislation  are  not  such  toys  as 
posts  of  honour  and  profit,  crowns  and  empires,  which  are 
the  highest  rewards  that  civil  rulers  can  promise  or  bestow; 
but  rational  peace  and  serenity  of  mind,  undaunted  bravery 
under  the  frowns  of  adversity,  a  cheerful  confidence  in 
the  divine  guardianship  under  all  the  calamities  of  life,  and 
in  the  future  world  an  entire  exemption  from  all  sorrow 
and  from  sin,  the  fruitful  source  of  all  our  afflictions ;  the 
possession  of  every  good,  the  enjoyment  of  the  divine  pre- 
sence, of  the  society  of  angels  and  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect;  in  short,  the  fruition  of  a  happiness  above 
our  present  wishes,  and  equal  to  our  then  mature  faculties, 
and  all  this  for  ever :  these  are  the  rewards  of  evangelical 
obedience,  not  indeed  for  its  own  sake,  but  upon  account 
of  the  righteousness  of  the  blessed  Jesus ;  and  if  these  fail 
to  allure  men  to  obedience,  what  can  prevail  ?  And  how 
happy  is  it  to  live  under  a  government,  where  virtue  and 
religion,  which  in  their  own  nature  tend  to  our  happiness, 


428  THE    DIVINE    GOVERNMENT 

are  enforced  with  such  resistless  arguments !  On  the  other 
hand,  the  penalty  annexed  by  the  divine  Lawgiver  to  dis- 
obedience is  proportionably  dreadful.  To  pine  and  lan- 
guish under  the  secret  curse  of  angry  Heaven,  which,  like 
a  contagious  poison,  diffuses  itself  through  all  the  enjoy- 
ments of  the  wicked,  Mai  ii.  2 ;  to  sweat  under  the  ago- 
nies of  a  guilty  conscience  in  this  world,  and  in  the  future 
world  to  be  banished  from  the  beatific  presence  of  God  and 
all  the  joys  of  heaven ;  to  feel  the  anguish  and  remorse  of 
guilty  reflections ;  to  burn  in  unquenchable  fire ;  to  con- 
sume a  miserable  eternity  in  the  horrid  society  of  malig- 
nant ghosts ;  and  all  this  without  the  least  rational  expecta- 
tion, nay,  without  so  much  as  a  deluded  hope  of  deliver- 
ance, or  the  mitigation  of  torture,  through  the  revolutions 
of  endless  ages,  all  this  is  a  faint  representation  of  the 
penalty  annexed  to  disobedience;  and  it  is  a  penalty 
worthy  a  God  to  inflict,  and  equal  to  the  infinite  malig- 
nity of  sin.  And  "  let  the  earth  rejoice ;  let  the  multi- 
tude of  isles  be  glad,"  on  account  not  only  of  the  pro- 
missory sanction  of  the  law,  but  also  of  this  tremen- 
dous penalty ;  for  it  flows  not  only  from  justice,  but  from 
goodness,  as  well  as  its  promise.  The  penalty  is  not 
annexed  to  the  law,  nor  will  it  be  executed  from  a  malig- 
nant pleasure  in  the  misery  of  the  creature,  but  it  is  an- 
nexed from  a  regard  to  the  happiness  of  mankind,  and  will 
be  executed  upon  individuals  for  the  extensive  good  of  the 
whole  as  well  as  for  the  honourable  display  of  the  divine 
purity  and  justice.  A  penalty  is  primarily  intended  to 
deter  men  from  disobedience.  Now  disobedience  tends 
in  its  own  nature  to  make  us  miserable ;  it  renders  it  im- 
possible, in  the  nature  of  things,  that  we  should  be  happy 
in  the  enjoyment  of  God  and  the  employments  of  heaven, 
which  are  eternally  and  immutably  contrary  to  sinful,  dis- 
positions ;  and  it  fills  us  with  those  malignant  and  unruly 


THE    JOY    OF    OUR    WORLD.  429 

passions  which  cannot  but  make  us  uneasy.  Hence  it 
follows,  that,  since  the  penalty  tends  to  deter  us  from  sin, 
and  since  sin  naturally  tends  to  make  us  miserable,  there- 
fore the  penalty  is  a  kind  of  gracious  enclosure  round  the 
pit  of  misery,  to  keep  us  from  falling  into  it :  it  is  a  friendly 
admonition  not  to  drink  poison ;  it  is,  in  a  word,  a  kind 
restraint  upon  us  in  our  career  to  ruin ;  and  indeed  it  is  a 
blessing  we  could  not  spare ;  for  we  find,  that,  notwith- 
standing the  terror  of  the  threatening,  men  will  run  on  in 
sin ;  and  with  how  much  more  horrid  alacrity  and  infernal 
zeal  would  they  continue  their  course,  if  there  were  no 
divine  threatening  to  check  and  withhold  them?  The 
earth  may  also  rejoice  for  the  execution  of  the  penalty  of 
the  divine  law  against  sin ;  for  the  conspicious  punishment 
of  the  disobedient  may  serve  as  a  loud  warning  to  all 
rational  beings  that  now  exist,  or  that  may  hereafter  be 
created,  not  to  offend  against  God ;  and  thus  it  may  be 
the  means  of  preserving  them  in  obedience,  and  so  pro- 
mote the  general  good ;  and  it  may  be  that  the  number  of 
those  that  shall  be  punished  of  the  human  and  angelic 
natures,  when  compared  to  the  number  of  reasonable  beings 
that  shall  be  confirmed  in  holiness  and  happiness  by  observ- 
ing their  doom,  may  bear  no  more  proportion  than  the 
number  of  criminals  executed  in  a  government  as  public 
example  does  to  all  the  subjects  of  it;  and  consequently 
such  punishment  may  be  vindicated  on  the  same  princi- 
ples. 

Farther,  Justice  is  an  amiable  attribute  in  itself,  and  it  ap- 
pears so  to  all  rational  beings  but  criminals,  whose  in- 
terest it  is,  that  it  should  not  be  displayed;  and  therefore 
the  infliction  of  just  punishment  should  be  matter  of  gen- 
eral joy,  since  it  is  amiable  in  itself.  So  it  is  in  human 
governments ;  while  we  are  innocent,  we  approve  of  the 
conduct  of  our  magistrates  in  inflicting  capital  punishment 


430  THE    DIVINE    GOVERNMENT 

upon  notorious  malefactors,  though  the  malefactors  them- 
selves view  it  with  horror.  But  to  proceed : 

"Let  the  earth  rejoice;  let  the  multitude  of  isles  be 
glad,"  that  the  divine  laws  rea  h  the  inner  man,  and  have 
power  upon  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men.  Human 
laws  can  only  smooth  our  external  conduct  at  best,  but 
the  heart  in  the  meantime  may  be  disloyal  and  wicked. 
Now  this  defect  is  supplied  by  the  laws  of  the  King  of 
heaven,  which  are  spiritual.  They  require  a  complete 
uniformity  and  self-consistency  in  us,  that  heart  and  life 
may  agree :  and  therefore  they  are  wisely  framed  to  make 
us  entirely  good.  They  have  also  an  inimitable  power 
upon  the  consciences  of  men.  Should  all  the  world  acquit 
us,  yet  we  cannot  acquit  ourselves  when  we  violate  them. 
The  consciousness  of  a  crime  has  made  many  a  hardy 
offender  sweat  and  agonize  with  remorse,  though  no  human 
eye  could  witness  to  his  offence.  Now  what  cause  of  joy 
is  it  that  these  laws  are  quick  and  powerful,  and  that  they 
are  attended  with  almighty  energy,  which  in  some  mea- 
sure intimidates  and  restrains  the  most  audacious,  and  in- 
spires the  conscientious  with  a  pious  fear  of  offending ! 

II.  The  Lord  reigneth  by  his  Providence.  "  Let  the 
earth  therefore  rejoice ;  and  the  multitude  of  isles  be  glad 
thereof." 

The  Providence  of  God  is  well  described  in  our  shorter 
Catechism :  "  It  is  his  most  holy,  wise,  and  powerful  pre- 
serving and  governing  all  his  creatures,  and  all  their 
actions."  To  particularize  all  the  instances  of  providen- 
tial government  which  may  be  matter  of  joy  to  the  earth 
would  be  endless,  therefore  I  shall  only  mention  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Let  the  earth  rejoice;  and  the  multitude  of  isles  be 
glad,  that  the  Lord  reigneth  over  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth,  and  manages  all  their  affairs  according  to  his  sove- 


THE    JOY    OF    OUR    WORLD.  431 

reign  and  wise  pleasure.  We  sometimes  hear  of  wars, 
and  rumors  of  wars,  of  thrones  tottering,  and  kingdoms 
falling,  of  the  nations  tumultuously  raging  and  dashing  in 
angry  conflict,  like  the  waves  of  the  boisterous  ocean.  In 
such  a  juncture  we  may  say,  "  The  floods  have  lifted  up, 
O  LORD,  the  floods  have  lifted  up  their  voice.  The  floods 
lift  up  their  waves.  But  the  Lord  reigneth,  therefore  the 
world  shall  be  established  that  it  cannot  be  moved. — The 
LORD  on  high  is  mightier  than  the  noise  of  many  waters ; 
yea,  than  the  mighty  waves  of  the  sea."  Psalm  xciii. 
Sometimes  the  ambition  of  foreign  power,  or  the  encroach- 
ments of  domestic  tyranny,  may  threaten  our  liberties,  and 
persecution  may  seem  ready  to  discharge  its  artillery 
against  the  church  of  God,  while  every  pious  heart  trem- 
bles for  the  ark,  lest  it  should  be  carried  into  the  land  of 
its  enemies.  But  the  Lord  reigneth !  let  the  earth,  let 
the  church  rejoice !  "  the  eternal  God  is  her  refuge,  and 
underneath  her  are  the  everlasting  arms."  Deut.  xxxiii.  27. 
He  will  overrule  the  various  revolutions  of  the  world  for 
her  good ;  he  will  give  kings  for  her  ransom,  ^Ethiopia 
and  Seba  for  her;  and  the  united  powers  of  earth  and 
hell  shall  not  prevail  against  her.  Though  the  frame  of 
nature  should  be  unhinged,  we  'may  find  refuge  in  our 
God.  Yet  it  must  be  owned,  that  the  Lord  for  the  chas- 
tisement of  his  people  may  suffer  their  enemies  to  break 
in  upon  them,  and  may  cast  them  into  the  furnace  of  af- 
fliction. But  let  the  earth  rejoice,  let  the  church  be  glad 
that  the  Lord  reigneth  over  her  most  powerful  enemies, 
and  that  they  are  but  executing  his  will  even  when  they 
have  no  regard  to  it,  but  are  gratifying  their  own  ambition. 
They  are  but  a  rod  in  the  hand  of  a  tender  father,  who 
corrects  only  to  amend :  and  when  he  has  used  the  rod 
for  this  gracious  purpose,  he  will  then  lay  it  aside.  In 
this  language  the  Almighty  speaks  of  the  haughty  As- 


432  THE   DIVINE    GOVERNMENT 

Syrian  monarch  who  had  pushed  his  conquest  so  far  and 
wide.  Isaiah  x.  5,  6,  7.  "  Oh  Assyrian,  the  rod  of  mine 
anger,"  &c.  "  I  will  give  him  my  commission,  and  send 
him  against  the  Jews,  my  favourite  people;  because  they 
are  degenerated  into  an  hypocritical  nation,  and  he  shall 
execute  my  orders."  "Howbeit,  he  meaneth  not  so;"  it 
is  far  from  his  heart  to  obey  my  will  in  this  expedition; 
but  his  only  design  is  to  aggrandize  himself,  "  and  to  de- 
stroy and  cut  off  nations  not  a  few."  And  when  this  in- 
strument of  the  divine  vengeance  arrogates  to  himself  the 
honour  of  his  own  successes,  with  what  just  insult  and 
disdain  does  the  King  of  kings  speak  of  him!  ver.  12-15. 
"  Shall  the  axe  boast  itself  against  him  that  heweth  there- 
with 1  As  if  the  rod  should  shake  itself  against  them  that 
lift  it  up,"  &c.  The  design  of  God  in  these  chastise- 
ments is  to  purge  away  the  iniquity  of  his  people ;  and 
this  is  all  the  fruit  of  them  to  take  away  their  sin ;  and 
when  this  gracious  design  is  answered,  they  shall  be  re- 
moved ;  "  The  rod  of  the  wicked  shall  not  rest  upon  the 
lot  of  the  righteous."  Psalm  cxxv.  3.  Now  what  cause 
of  universal  joy  is  this,  that  one  infinitely  wise  sits  at  the 
helm,  and  can  steer  the  feeble  vessel  of  his  church  through 
all  the  outrageous  storms  of  this  unfriendly  climate  and 
tempestuous  ocean !  He  may  seem  at  times  to  lie  asleep, 
but  in  the  article  of  extreme  danger  he  will  awake  and  still 
the  winds  and  the  sea  with  his  sovereign  mandate,  Peace, 
be  still.  Men  may  form  deep  and  politic  schemes,  and 
purpose  their  accomplishment  in  defiance  of  Heaven,  "  but 
God  disappointeth  the  devices  of  the  crafty,  so  that  their 
hands  cannot  perform  their  enterprise.  He  taketh  the 
wise  in  their  own  craftines,  and  the  counsel  of  the  froward 
is  carried  headlong."  Job  v.  12,  13.  This  was  exempli- 
fied in  the  cause  of  Ahithophel,  2  Sam.  xvii.  14.  The 
hearts  of  men,  yea  of  kings,  "  are  in  the  hand  of  the  LORD, 


THE    JOY    OF    OUR    WORLD.  433 

and  he  turneth  them  whithersoever  he  will."  Prov.  xxi. 
1,  (see  also  chap.  xvi.  1,  9,  and  xix.  21.)  And  how  joy- 
ful a  thought  this,  that  we  are  not  at  the  arbitrary  disposal 
of  our  fellow  mortals,  and  that  affairs  are  not  managed  ac- 
cording to  their  capricious  pleasure,  but  that  our  God  is 
in  heaven,  and  doth  whatsoever  he  pleaseth  !  Psalm  cxv.  3. 

Again,  the  church  may  be  endangered  by  intestine 
divisions  and  offences.  The  professors  of  religion  may 
stumble  and  fall,  and  so  wound  the  hearts  of  the  friends  of 
Zion,  and  give  matter  of  triumph  and  insult  to  its  enemies. 
Some  may  apostatize,  and  return  like  the  dog  to  his  vomit. 
A  general  lukewarmness  may  diffuse  itself  through  the 
church,  and  even  those  who  retain  their  integrity  in  the 
main  may  feel  the  contagion.  Divisions  and  animosities 
may  be  inflamed,  mutual  love  may  be  extinguished,  and  a 
spirit  of  discord  succeed  in  its  place.  A  most  melancholy 
case  this,  and  too  much  like  our  own  :  and  our  hearts 
sink  at  times  beneath  the  burden.  But  the  LORD  reigneth  ; 
let  the  earth  be  glad.  He  can  reduce  this  confusion  into 
order,  and  make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him,  and  re- 
strain the  remainder  of  it :  Psalm  Ixxvi.  10.  It  is  the 
peculiarity  of  divine  wisdom  to  educe  good  out  of  evil, 
and  let  us  rejoice  in  it.  God  is  supreme,  and  therefore 
can  control  all  the  wicked  passions  of  the  mind.  He  has 
the  residue  of  the  Spirit,  and  can  rekindle  the  languishing 
flame  of  devotion.  And  oh  let  us  apply  to  him  with  the 
most  vigorous  and  unwearied  importunity  for  so  necessary 
a  blessing ! 

Again,  we  are  exposed  to  numberless  accidental  and 
unforseen  dangers,  which  we  cannot  prevent  nor  encounter. 
Sickness  and  death  may  proceed  from  a  thousand  unsus- 
pected causes.  Our  friends,  our  estates,  and,  in  short,  all 
our  earthly  enjoyments,  may  be  torn  from  us  by  a  variety 
of  accidents.  We  walk,  as  it  were,  in  the  dark,  and  may 

VOL.  I.— 65 


434  THE    DIVINE    GOVERNMENT 

tread  on  remediless  dangers  ere  we  are  aware.  Bui  the 
LORD  reigneth :  let  the  earth  be  glad  !  contingent  events  are 
at  his  disposal,  and  necessity  at  his  control.  The  smallest 
things  are  not  beneath  the  notice  of  his  providence,  and 
the  greatest  are  not  above  it.  Diseases  and  misfortunes 
that  seem  to  happen  by  chance,  are  commissioned  by  the 
Lord  of  all ;  and  they  that  result  evidently  from  natural 
causes  are  sent  by  his  almighty  will.  He  says  to  one,  Go, 
and  it  goeth ;  and  to  another,  Come,  and  it  cometh ;  he 
orders  the  devastations  that  are  made  by  the  most  out- 
rageous elements.  If  flames  lay  our  houses  in  ashes,  they 
are  kindled  by  his  breath.  If  hurricanes  sweep  through 
our  land,  and  carry  desolation  along  with  them,  they  per- 
form his  will,  and  can  do  nothing  beyond  it:  his  hand 
hurls  the  thunder,  and  directs  it  where  to  strike.  An  ar- 
row or  a  bullet  shot  at  a  venture  in  the  heat  of  battle  is 
carried  to  its  mark  by  divine  direction.  How  wretched  a 
world  would  this  be  were  it  not  under  the  wise  manage- 
ment of  divine  Providence  !  If  chance  or  blind  fate  were 
its  rulers,  what  desolation  would  crowd  upon  us  every  mo- 
ment !  we  should  soon  be  crushed  in  the  ruins  of  a  fallen 
world.  Every  wind  that  blows  might  blast  us  with  death, 
and  fire  and  water  would  mingle  in  a  blended  chaos,  and 
bury  us  in  their  destruction.  But  so  extensive  is  the  care 
of  Providence,  that  even  the  sparrows  may  find  safety  in 
it ;  and  we  cannot  lose  so  much  as  a  hair  of  our  heads 
without  its  permission:  Matt.  x.  29,  30,  31.  And  how 
much  more  then  are  our  persons  and  our  affairs  of  import- 
ance under  its  guardianship  and  direction ! 

Again  we  are  in  perpetual  danger  from  the  malignant 
agency  of  infernal  spirits,  who  watch  all  opportunities  to 
ruin  the  souls,  bodies,  and  estates  of  men.  These  subtle 
spirits  can  inject  ensnaring  thoughts  into  our  minds,  and 
present  such  images  to  the  fancy  as  may  allure  the  soul 


THE    JOY    OF    OUR    WORLD.  435 

to  sin.  This  is  repeatedly  asserted  in  Scripture,  and  at- 
tested by  the  melancholy  experience  of  multitudes  in  all 
ages.  That  they  have  power  also  in  the  material  world 
to  raise  storms  and  tempests,  and  to  ruin  men's  estates 
and  inflict  diseases  on  their  bodies,  is  plain  from  the  case 
of  Job,  and  many  in  our  Saviour's  time,  and  from  Satan's 
being  called  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  ;  and  his 
associates  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places.  And  what 
horrid  devastations  would  these  powerful  and  malicious 
beings  spread  through  the  world  if  they  were  not  under 
the  control  of  divine  Providence !  They  would  perpet- 
ually haunt  our  minds  with  ensnaring  or  terrifying  images; 
would  meet  us  with  temptations  at  every  turn,  and  lead 
us  willing  captives  to  hell.  They  would  also  strip  us  en- 
tirely of  all  temporal  enjoyments,  torture  our  bodies  with 
grievous  pains,  or  moulder  them  into  dust  with  consuming 
and  loathsome  diseases.  But  the  LORD  reigneth;  let  the 
earth  be  glad.  He  keeps  the  infernal  lions  in  chains,  and 
restrains  their  rage.  He  sees  all  their  subtle  plots  and 
machinations  against  his  feeble  sheep,  and  baffles  them  all. 
He  will  not  suffer  his  people  to  be  tempted  above  what 
they  are  able  to  bear;  but  with  the  temptation  will  also 
make  a  way  to  escape;  1.  Cor.  x.  13.  And  when  he 
suffers  them  to  be  buffeted,  his  grace  shall  be  sufficient  for 
them,  &c. :  2  Cor.  xii.  7,  9.  He  hath  also  (as  Satan  him- 
self confessed  with  regard  to  Job)  made  a  hedge  about  us, 
about  our  houses,  and  about  all  that  we  have  on  every 
side ;  Job  i.  10;  and  hence  we  live  and  enjoy  the  blessings 
of  life.  What  cause  of  grateful  joy  is  this!  Who 
would  not  rather  die  than  live  in  a  world  ungoverned 
by  divine  Providence?  This  earth  would  soon  be 
turned  into  a  hell,  if  the  infernal  armies  were  let  loose 
upon  it. 

III.    The    Lord   reigneth   upon    a   throne   of  grace! 


436  THE   DIVINE    GOVERNMENT 

"  Let  the  earth  rejoice ;  let  the  multitude  of  isles  be  glad 
thereof." 

It  is  the  mediatorial  government  of  the  Messiah  which 
the  Psalmist  had  more  immediately  in  view ;  and  this  is 
the  principal  cause  of  joy  to  the  earth  and  its  guilty  in- 
habitants. This  is  a  kind  of  government  peculiar  to  the 
human  race ;  the  upright  angels  do  not  need  it,  and  the 
fallen  angels  are  not  favoured  with  it.  This  is  invested  in 
the  person  of  Immanuel,  "who  is  made  head  over  all 
things  to  his  church,"  Eph.  i.  22 ;  "  to  whom  all  power  in 
heaven  and  earth  is  given,"  Matt.  xi.  27,  and  xxviii.  18. 
This  is  the  kingdom  described  in  such  august  language  in 
Dan.  ii.  ver.  44,  45,  and  vii.  14.  Luke  i.  32,  33.  Hence 
that  Jesus  who  was  mocked  with  a  crown  of  thorns,  and 
condemned  as  a  criminal  at  Pilate's  bar,  wears  on  his 
vesture  and  on  his  thigh  this  majestic  inscription,  KING  OF 
KINGS,  AND  LORD  OF  LORDS.  Rev.  xix.  16.  And 
behold  I  bring  you  glad  tidings;  this  kingdom  of  God  is  come 
unto  you,  and  you  are  called  to  become  its  subjects,  and  share 
in  its  blessings.  Wherever  the  gospel  is  preached,  there 
Jehovah  sits  upon  a  mercy-seat  in  majesty  tempered  with 
condescending  grace.  From  thence  he  invites  rebels  that 
had  rejected  his  government  to  return  to  their  allegiance, 
and  passes  an  act  of  grace  upon  all  that  comply  with  the 
invitation.  To  his  throne  of  grace  he  invites  all  to  come, 
and  offers  them  the  richest  blessings.  From  thence  he 
publishes  peace  on  earth,  and  good  will  towards  men. 
From  thence  he  offers  pardon  to  all  that  will  submit  to  his 
government,  and  renounce  their  sins,  those  weapons  of  re- 
bellion. From  thence  he  distributes  the  influences  of  his 
Spirit  to  subdue  obstinate  hearts  into  cheerful  submission, 
to  support  his  subjects  under  every  burden,  and  furnish 
them  with  strength  for  the  spiritual  warfare.  He  sub- 
dues their  rebellious  corruptions,  animates  their  languish- 


THE    JOY    OF    OUR    WORLD.  437 

ing  graces,  and  protects  them  from  their  spiritual  enemies.* 
He  enacts  laws  for  the  regulation  of  his  church,  appoints 
ordinances  for  her  edification,  and  qualifies  ministers  to 
dispense  them.  He  hath  ascended  up  on  high ;  he  hath 
received  gifts  for  men ;  and  these  he  hath  distributed,  and 
given  "some  apostles;  and  some  prophets;  and  some 
evangelists ;  and  some  pastors  and  teachers ;  for  the  per- 
fecting of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the 
edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ,"  Eph.  iv.  8,  11,  1*2.  And 
it  is  by  virtue  of  authority  derived  from  him,  that  his 
ministers  now  officiate,  and  you  receive  his  ordinances  at 
their  hands.  Now  how  happy  are  we,  that  we  live  under 
the  mediatorial  administration !  under  the  empire  of  grace ! 
— Let  the  earth  rejoice  ;  let  the  multitude  of  isles  be  glad 
upon  this  account.  And  let  us  pray  that  all  nations 
may  become  the  willing  subjects  of  our  gracious  Sovereign. 
If  this  administration  of  grace  had  not  yet  been  erected, 
in  what  a  miserable  situation  should  we  have  been !  guilty, 
miserable,  and  hopeless !  Let  us  rejoice  that  the  King  of 
heaven,  from  whom  we  had  revolted,  has  not  suffered  us 
to  perish  without  remedy  in  our  unnatural  rebellion,  but 
holds  out  the  sceptre  of  his  grace  to  us,  that  we  may  touch 
it  and  live. 

IV.  And  lastly,  the  Lord  will  reign  ere  long  upon  a 
throne  of  universal  judgment,  conspicuous  to  the  assembled 
universe.  "  Let  the  earth  therefore  rejoice,  and  the  multi- 
tude of  isles  be  glad." 

Here  I  may  borrow  the  inimitable  language  of  the 
Psalmist,  Ps.  xcvi.  10,  13.  "  The  LORD  shall  judge  the 
people  righteously.  Let  the  heavens  rejoice,  and  let  the 
earth  be  glad :  let  the  sea  roar,  and  the  fulness  thereof; 
let  the  field  be  joyful,  and  all  that  is  therein ;  then  shall  all 

*  See  his  reign  most  beautifully  described  under  the  type  of  Solomon. 
Psalm  Ixxii. 


438  THE    DIVINE    GOVERNMENT 

the  trees  of  the  wood  rejoice  before  the  LORD,  for  he 
cometh !  for  he  cometh  to  judge  the  earth.  He  shall 
judge  the  world  with  righteousness  and  the  people  with 
his  truth."  This  will  indeed  be  a  day  of  insupportable 
terror  to  his  enemies,  Rev.  vi.  15,  16,  but,  on  many  ac- 
counts, it  will  prove  a  day  of  joy  and  triumph. 

This  day  will  unfold  all  the  mysteries  of  divine  Provi- 
dence which  are  now  unsearchable.  There  are  many 
dispensations  now  for  which  we  cannot  account.  Many 
blessings  are  bestowed,  many  calamities  fall,  and  many 
events  happen,  of  which  mortals  cannot  see  the  reason. 
Prosperity  is  the  lot  of  some  who  seem  the  peculiar  ob- 
jects of  divine  vengeance ;  and  many  groan  under  afflic- 
tions who  seem  more  proper  objects  of  providential  be- 
neficence. We  are  often  led  into  ways  the  end  of  which 
we  cannot  see,  and  are  bewildered  in  various  perplexities 
about  the  designs  of  divine  Providence  towards  us.  Hence 
also  impiety  takes  occasion  to  cavil  at  the  ways  of  God 
as  not  equal,  and  to  censure  his  government  as  weakly  ad- 
ministered. But  in  that  day  all  his  ways  will  appear  to  be 
judgment.  The  clouds  and  darkness  that  now  surround 
them  will  vanish,  and  the  beams  of  wisdom,  goodness,  and 
justice,  shall  shine  illustrious  before  the  whole  universe, 
and  every  creature  shall  join  the  plaudit,  He  hath  done  all 
things  well !  Now  we  can  at  best  but  see  a  few  links  in 
the  chain  of  providence,  but  then  we  shall  see  it  all  entire 
and  complete ;  then  the  whole  system  will  be  exposed  to 
view  at  once,  which  will  discover  the  strange  symmetry, 
connections,  dependencies,  and  references  of  all  the  parts, 
without  which  we  can  no  more  judge  of  the  excellency 
of  the  procedure  than  a  rustic  could  tell  the  use  of  the 
several  parts  of  a  watch,  if  he  saw  them  scattered  in 
various  places.  Let  the  earth  therefore  be  glad  in  ex- 
pectation of  this  glorious  discovery. 


THE    JOY    OF    OUR    WORLD.  439 

Again,  let  the  earth  rejoice  that  in  that  day  the  present 
unequal  distributions  of  Providence  will  be  for  ever  ad- 
justed, and  regulated  according  to  the  strictest  justice. 
This  is  not  the  place  or  season  for  retribution,  and  there- 
fore we  need  not  be  surprised  that  the  blessings  and 
calamities  of  this  life  are  not  disposed  according  to  men's 
real  characters;  but  then  every  man  shall  be  dealt  with 
according  to  his  works.  Oppressed  innocence  will  be 
redressed,  and  insolence  for  ever  mortified:  calumny  will 
be  confuted,  and  flattery  exposed:  Lazarus  shall  be  com- 
forted, Dives  tormented:  impious  kings  shall  be  driven 
into  the  infernal  pit,  while  pious  beggars  shall  be  advanced 
to  the  heights  of  happiness.  In  short,  all  matters  will 
then  be  set  right,  and  therefore  let  the  earth  rejoice. 

Again,  let  the  earth  rejoice  that  in  that  day  the  right- 
eous shall  be  completely  delivered  from  all  sin  and  sorrow, 
and  advanced  to  the  perfection  of  heavenly  happiness. 
Then  they  shall  enter  upon  the  full  fruition  of  that  bliss, 
which  is  now  the  object  of  all  their  anxious  hopes  and 
earnest  labours. 

But  we  must  change  the  scene  into  tragedy,  and  take  a 
view  of  the  trembling  criminals  hearing  their  dreadful 
doom,  and  sinking  to  hell  with  horrible  anguish.  And 
must  the  earth  rejoice  in  this  too  ?  Yes,  but  with  a 
solemn  tremendous  joy.  Even  the  condemnation  and 
everlasting  misery  of  these  is  right  and  just,  is  amiable 
and  glorious ;  and  God,  angels  and  saints,  will  at  the  great 
day  rejoice  in  it.  The  awful  grandeur  of  justice  will  be 
illustrated  in  it;  and  this  is  matter  of  joy.  The  punish- 
ment of  irreclaimable  impenitents  will  be  an  effectual 
warning  to  all  reasonable  beings,  and  to  all  future  crea- 
tions, as  has  been  observed;  and  by  it  they  will  be  de- 
terred from  disobedience ;  and  this  is  the  cause  of  joy. 
These  criminals  will  then  be  beyond  repentance  and  re- 


440  THE    DIVINE    GOVERNMENT 

formation,  and  therefore  it  is  impossible  in  the  nature  of 
things  they  should  be  happy;  and  why  then  should  heaven 
be  encumbered  with  them?  Is  it  not  cause  of  joy  that 
they  should  be  confined  in  prison  who  have  made  them- 
selves unfit  for  society  1  In  the  present  state  sinners  are 
objects  of  our  compassion  and  sorrow,  and  the  whole  crea- 
tion mourns  for  them.  Rom.  viii.  22.  But  God  will  then 
rejoice  in  their  ruin,  and  laugh  at  their  calamity,  Prov.  i. 
26 ;  and  all  dutiful  creatures  will  join  in  his  joy. 

Thus  you  see  that  the  Lord  reigneth.  And  who,  poor 
feeble  saints,  who  is  this  that  sustains  this  universal 
government,  and  rules  the  whole  creation  according  to  his 
pleasure  ?  It  is  your  Father,  your  Saviour,  your  Friend ! 
It  is  he  that  entertains  a  tenderer  regard  for  you  than 
ever  glowed  in  a  human  breast.  And  can  you  be  so 
foolish  as  to  regard  the  surmises  of  unbelief?  Can  you 
force  yourselves  to  fear  that  he  will  ever  leave  or  forsake 
you  ?  Can  you  suspect  that  he  will  suffer  you  to  fall  a 
helpless  prey  to  your  enemies?  No,  your  Lord  reigneth, 
therefore  rejoice.  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  alway ;  and  again 
I  say  rejoice.  While  he  keeps  the  throne  of  the  universe, 
you  shall  be  safe  and  happy.  Your  Father  is  greater 
than  all,  and  none  can  pluck  you  out  of  his  hands.  Re- 
member, he  sits  upon  a  throne  of  grace,  therefore  come  to 
him  with  boldness.  You  may  smile  at  calamity  and  con- 
fusion, and  rejoice  amid  the  ruins  of  the  world;  you 
may  borrow  the  language  of  David,  Psalm  xlv.;  or  of 
Habakkuk,  chap.  iii.  ver.  17,  18.  Remember  also,  that, 
as  he  is  a  king,  he  demands  your  cheerful  obedience,  and 
therefore  make  his  service  the  business  of  your  life. 

And,  unhappy  sinners!  let  me  ask  you,  Who  is  this 
that  reigns  King  of  the  universe  ?  Why,  it  is  he  whom 
you  have  rejected  from  being  King  over  you;  it  is  he 
against  whom  you  have  rebelled,  and  who  is  therefore 


THE    JOY    OF    OUR    WORLD.  441 

your  just  enemy.  And  are  you  able  to  make  good  your 
cause  against  him  who  has  universal  nature  at  his  nod? 
How  dreadful  is  your  situation !  That  which  may  make 
the  earth  rejoice,  may  make  you  fear  and  tremble.  The 
Lord  reigneth,  let  sinners  tremble.  You  must  fall  before 
him,  if  you  will  not  cheerfully  submit  to  his  government. 
Let  me  therefore  renew  the  usual  neglected  declaration, 
"  He  sits  upon  a  throne  of  grace."  Let  me  once  more  in 
his  name  proclaim  reconciliation !  reconciliation ! !  in  your 
ears,  and  invite  you  to  return  to  your  allegiance.  Lay 
down  your  arms,  forsake  your  sins!  Hasten,  hasten  to 
him!  The  sword  of  his  justice  now  hangs  over  your 
heads,  while  I  am  managing  the  treaty  with  you;  and 
therefore  delay  not.  Yield ;  yield,  or  die !  surrender,  or 
perish!  for  you  have  no  other  alternative.  Submit,  and 
you  may  join  the  general  joy  at  his  government.  You 
upon  earth,  and  devils  and  damned  ghosts  in  hell,  are  the 
only  beings  that  are  sorry  for  it;  but  upon  your  submis- 
sion your  sorrow  shall  be  turned  into  joy,  and  you  shall 
exult  when  the  LORD  of  all  comes  to  judge  "  the  world 
with  righteousness,  and  the  people  with  his  truth."  Psalm 
xcvi.  13. 

VOL.  I.— 56 


442  THE    NAME    OF    GOD 


SERMON  XVII. 

/• . 

THE    NAME    OF    GOD    PROCLAIMED    BY    HIMSELF. 

EXOD.  xxxiii.  18,  19. — And  he  said,  I  beseech  thee,  show 
me  thy  glory.  And  he  said,  I  will  make  all  my  good- 
ness pass  before  thee,  and  I  will  proclaim  the  name  of 
the  LORD  before  thee. — 

WITH 

CHAP,  xxxiv.  6,  7. — And  the  LORD  passed  by  before  him, 
and  proclaimed,  The  LORD,  the  LORD  God,  merciful  and 
gracious,  long-suffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and 
truth;  keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity 
and  transgression  and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means 
clear  the  guilty. 

IT  is  a  very  natural  and  proper  inquiry  for  a  creature, 
"Where  is  God  my  Maker?"  And  a  heart  that  loves 
him  must  long  to  know  more  of  him,  and  is  ever  ready  to 
join  with  Moses  in  his  petition,  Show  me,  I  pray  thee,  thy 
glory;  or,  "Reveal  thyself  to  me."  That  thou  art,  I 
infer  from  my  own  existence,  and  from  thy  numerous 
works  all  around  me ;  and  that  thou  art  glorious,  I  learn 
from  the  display  of  thy  perfections  in  thy  vast  creation, 
and  in  the  government  of  the  world  thou  hast  made. 
But,  alas !  how  small  a  portion  of  God  is  known  in  the 
earth !  How  faintly  does  thy  glory  shine  in  the  feeble 
eyes  of  mortals.  My  knowledge  of  things  in  the  present 
state  of  flesh  and  blood  depends  in  a  great  measure  upon 
the  senses ;  but  God  is  a  Spirit  invisible  to  eyes  of  flesh, 


PROCLAIMED    BY    HIMSELF.  443 

and  imperceptible  through  the  gross  medium  of  sensation. 
How  and  when  shall  I  know  thee  as  thou  art,  thou  great, 
thou  dear  unknown  ?  In  what  a  strange  situation  am  I ! 
I  am  surrounded  with  thy  Omnipresence,  yet  I  cannot 
perceive  thee :  thou  art  as  near  to  me  as  I  am  to  myself; 
"thou  knowest  my  down-sitting  and  mine  up-rising,  thou 
understandest  my  thoughts  afar  off;"  thou  penetratest  my 
very  essence,  and  knowest  me  altogether.  Psalm  cxxxix. 
2,  &c.  But  to  me  thou  dwellest  in  impervious  darkness, 
or  which  is  the  same,  in  light  inaccessible.  "  Oh  that  I 
knew  where  I  might  find  him!  Behold,  I  go  forward, 
but  he  is  not  there ;  and  backward,  but  I  cannot  perceive 
him  :  on  the  left  hand,  where  he  doth  work,  but  I  cannot 
behold  him :  he  hideth  himself  on  the  right  hand,  that  I 
cannot  see  him."  Job  xxiii.  3,  8,  9.  I  see  his  perfections 
beaming  upon  me  from  all  his  works,  and  his  providence 
ever-active,  ruling  the  vast  universe,  and  diffusing  life, 
motion,  and  vigour  through  the  whole :  the  virtue  of  his 
wisdom,  power,  and  goodness, 

"Warms  in  the  sun,  refreshes  in  the  breeze  ; 
Glows  in  the  stars,  and  blossoms  in  the  trees ; 
Lives  in  all  life,  extends  through  all  extent ; 
Spreads  undivided,  operates  unspent ; 
Inspires  our  soul,  informs  our  vital  part. — POPE. 

But  where  is  the  great  Agent  himself?  These  are  his 
works,  and  they  are  glorious :  "  in  wisdom  has  he  made 
them  all,"  but  where  is  the  divine  Artificer?  From  these 
displays  of  his  glory,  which  strike  my  senses,  I  derive  some 
ideas  of  him ;  but  oh  !  how  faint  and  glimmering !  how 
unlike  to  the  all-perfect  Archetype  and  Original !  I  have 
also  heard  of  him  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear;  I  read  his 
own  descriptions  of  himself  in  his  word;  I  contemplate 
the  representations  he  has  given  of  himself  in  his  ordi- 
nances ;  and  these  are  truly  glorious,  but  they  are  adapted 


444  THE   NAME    OF    GOD 

to  the  dark  and  grovelling  minds  of  mortals  in  this  obscure 
region,  and  fall  infinitely  short  of  the  original  glory.  I 
can  think  of  him;  I  can  love  him;  I  can  converse  and 
carry  on  a  spiritual  intercourse  with  him ;  I  feel  him  work- 
ing in  my  heart ;  I  receive  sensible  communications  of  love 
and  grace  from  him ;  I  dwell  at  times  with  unknown  de- 
light in  the  contemplation  of  his  glory,  and  am  transported 
with  the  survey :  but,  alas !  I  cannot  fully  know  him ;  I 
cannot  dive  deep  into  this  mystery  of  glory;  my  senses 
cannot  perceive  him;  and  my  intellectual  powers  in  the 
present  state  are  not  qualified  to  converse  with  spiritual 
objects,  and  form  a  full  acquaintance  with  them.  Oh !  if 
it  would  please  my  God  to  show  me  his  glory  in  its  full 
lustre !  Oh  that  he  would  reveal  himself  to  me  so  that 
my  senses  may  assist  my  mind ;  if  such  a  manner  of  reve- 
lation be  possible ! 

Such  thoughts  as  these  may  naturally  rise  in  our  minds ; 
and  probably  some  such  thoughts  possessed  the  mind  of 
Moses,  and  were  the  occasion  of  his  request,  /  beseech  thee, 
show  me  thy  glory. 

These  chapters,  whence  we  have  taken  our  subject  of 
discourse,  present  us  with  transactions  that  must  seem 
very  strange  and  incredible  to  a  mind  that  knows  nothing 
of  communion  with  the  Father  of  spirits,  and  that  is  fur- 
nished only  with  modern  ideas. 

Here  is,  not  an  angel,  but  a  man ;  not  a  creature  only, 
but  a  sinner,  a  sinner  once  depraved  as  ourselves,  in  inti- 
mate audience  with  the  Deity.  Jehovah  speaks  to  him 
face  to  face,  as  a  man  speaketh  to  his  friend.  Moses  uses 
his  interest  in  favour  of  a  rebellious  people,  and  it  was  so 
great  that  he  prevailed :  nay,  to  show  the  force  of  his  in- 
tercessions, and  to  give  him  an  encouragement  to  use  them, 
God  condescends  to  represent  himself  as  restrained  by  this 
importunate  petitioner,  and  unable  to  punish  the  ungrateful 


PROCLAIMED    BY    HIMSELF.  445 

/ 

Israelites,  while  Moses  pleaded  for  them.  "  Let  me  alone," 
says  he,  "  that  my  wrath  may  wax  hot  against  them,  that  I 
may  consume  them."  Exod.  xxxii.  10.  Moses  urges  peti- 
tion upon  petition;  and  he  obtains  blessing  upon  blessing, 
as  though  God  could  deny  nothing  to  such  a  favourite. 
He  first  deprecates  the  divine  wrath,  that  it  might  not  im- 
mediately break  out  upon  the  Israelites,  and  cut  them  off, 
verses  11-14.  When  he  has  gained  this  point,  he  ad- 
vances farther,  and  pleads  that  God  would  be  their  Con- 
ductor through  the  wilderness,  as  he  had  been  till  that 
time,  and  lead  them  into  the  promised  land.  In  this  arti- 
cle God  seems  to  put  him  off,  and  to  devolve  the  work  of 
conducting  them  upon  himself;  but  Moses,  sensible  that 
he  was  not  equal  to  it,  insists  upon  the  request,  and  with 
a  sacred  dexterity  urges  the  divine  promises  to  enforce  it. 
Jehovah  at  length  appears,  as  it  were,  partly  prevailed 
upon,  and  promises  to  send  his  angel  before  him  as  his 
guide.  Chap,  xxxii.  34,  and  xxxiii.  2.  But,  alas !  an  angel 
cannot  fill  up  his  place ;  and  Moses  renews  his  petition  to 
the  Lord,  and  humbly  tells  him  that  he  had  rather  stay,  or 
even  die  where  they  were  in  the  wilderness,  than  to  go  up 
to  the  promised  land  without  him.  If  thy  presence  go  not 
with  me,  carry  us  not  up  hence,  chap,  xxxiii.  15.  "  Alas ! 
the  company  of  an  angel,  and  the  possession  of  a  land 
flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  will  not  satisfy  us  without 
thyself."  His  prayers  prevail  for  this  blessing  also,  and 
Jehovah  will  not  deny  him  any  thing.  Oh  the  surprising 
prevalency  of  faith !  Oh  the  efficacy  of  the  fervent  prayer 
of  a  righteous  man  ! 

And  now,  when  his  people  are  restored  unto  the  divine 
favour,  and  God  has  engaged  to  go  with  them,  has  Moses 
any  thing  more  to  ask?  Yes,  he  found  he  had  indeed 
great  interest  with  God,  and  oh !  he  loved  him,  and  longed, 
and  languished  for  a  clearer  knowledge  of  him;  he  found 


446  THE   NAME    OF   GOD 

that  after  all  his  friendly  interviews  and  conferences  he 
knew  but  little  of  his  glory ;  and  now,  thought  he,  it  is 
proper  time  to  put  in  a  petition  for  this  manifestation ;  who 
knows  but  it  may  be  granted !  Accordingly  he  prays  with  a 
mixture  of  filial  boldness  and  trembling  modesty,  /  beseech 
thee,  show  me  thy  glory ;  that  is  to  say,  "  Now  I  am  in 
converse  with  thee,  I  perceive  thou  art  the  most  glorious 
of  all  beings ;  but  it  is  but  little  of  thy  glory  I  as  yet  know. 
Oh !  is  it  possible  for  a  guilty  mortal  to  receive  clearer  dis- 
coveries of  it?  If  so,  I  pray  thee  favour  me  with  a  more  full 
and  bright  view."  This  petition  is  also  granted,  and  the  Lord 
promises  him,  "  I  will  make  all  my  goodness  pass  before  thee, 
and  I  will  proclaim  the  name  of  the  LORD  before  thee." 

That  you  may  the  better  understand  this  strange  his- 
tory, I  would  have  you  observe  a  few  things. 

1st.  In  the  earliest  ages  of  the  world,  it  was  a  very  com- 
mon thing  for  God  to  assume  some  visible  form,  and  in  it 
to  converse  freely  with  his  servants.  Of  this  you  fre- 
quently read  in  the  history  of  the  patriarchs,  particularly 
of  Adam,  Abraham,  Jacob,  &c.  It  is  also  a  tradition 
almost  universally  received  in  all  ages,  and  among  all  na- 
tions, that  God  has  sometimes  appeared  in  a  sensible  form 
to  mortals.  You  can  hardly  meet  with  one  heathen  writer 
but  that  you  will  find  in  him  some  traces  of  this  tradition. 
Upon  this,  in  particular,  are  founded  the  many  extravagant 
stories  of  the  poets  concerning  the  appearances  of  their  gods. 
Had  there  been  no  original  truth  in  some  appearances  of  the 
true  God  to  men,  there  would  have  been  no  colour  for  such 
fables ;  for  they  would  have  evidently  appeared  groundless 
and  unnatural  to  every  reader.  This  tradition  therefore 
was  no  doubt  originally  derived  from  the  appearances  of 
the  Deity,  in  a  coporeal  form,  in  early  ages.*  Sometimes 

*  These  appearances  were  probably  made  in  the  person  of  the  Son,  and 
might  be  intended  as  a  prelude  or  earnest  of  his  assuming  human  nature  in 


PROCLAIMED    BY    HIMSELF. 

God  assumed  a  human  shape,  and  appeared  as  a  man. 
Thus  he  appeared  to  Abraham,  in  company  with  two  an- 
gels, Gen.  xviii.,  and  that  good  patriarch  entertained  them 
with  food  as  travellers;  yet  one  of  them  is  repeatedly 
styled  the  Lord,  or  Jehovah,  the  incommunicable  name  of 
God ;  see  verses  13,  20,  22,  26,  &c.,  and  speaks  in  a  lan- 
guage proper  to  him  only,  verses  14,  21,  &c.  Sometimes 
he  appeared  as  a  visible  brightness,  or  a  body  of  light,  or 
in  some  other  sensible  form  of  majesty  and  glory.  Thus 
he  was  seen  by  Moses  in  the  bush  as  a  burning  fire ;  thus 
he  attended  the  Israelites  through  the  wilderness,  in  the 
symbol  of  fire  by  night,  and  a  cloud  by  day ;  and  thus  he 
often  appeared  in  the  tabernacle,  and  at  the  dedication  of 
Solomon's  temple,  in  some  sensible  form  of  glorious  bright- 
ness, which  the  Jews  called  the  Shechinah ;  and  looked 
upon  as  a  certain  symbol  of  the  divine  presence. 

2dly.  You  are  to  observe  that  God,  who  is  a  spirit,  can- 
not be  perceived  by  the  senses ;  nor  were  these  sensible 
forms  intended  to  represent  the  divine  essence,  which  is 
wholly  immaterial.  You  can  no  more  see  God  than  you 
can  see  your  own  soul ;  and  a  bodily  form  can  no  more 
represent  his  nature  than  shape  or  colour  can  represent  a 
thought  or  the  affection  of  love.  Yet, 

3dly.  It  must  be  allowed  that  majestic  and  glorious  em- 
blems, or  representations  of  God  exhibited  to  the  senses, 
may  help  to  raise  our  ideas  of  him.  When  the  senses  and 
the  imagination  assist  the  power  of  pure  understanding,  its 
ideas  are  more  lively  and  impressive :  and  though  no  sen- 

tlie  fulness  of  time,  and  his  dwelling  among  mortals.  He  was  the  imme- 
diate Agent  in  the  creation  of  the  world;  and  the  Father  devolved  upon 
him  the  whole  economy  of  Providence  from  the  beginning;  and  hence  he 
had  frequent  occasions  to  appear  on  some  grand  design.  It  cannot  seem  in- 
credible that  he  should  thus  assume  some  visible  form  to  such  as  believe  that 
God  was  at  length  really  manifested  in  the  flesh;  for  this  temporary  apparent 
incarnation  cannot  be  deemed  more  strange  than  his  really  being  made  flesh, 
and  dwelling  among  us. 


448  THE    NAME    OF    GOD 

sible  representations  can  bear  any  strict  resemblance  to  the 
divine  nature,  yet  they  may  strike  our  minds  deeply,  and 
fill  them  with  images  of  grandeur  and  majesty.  When  I 
see  a  magnificent  palace,  it  naturally  tends  to  give  me  a 
great  idea  of  the  owner  or  builder.  The  retinue  and 
pomp  of  kings,  their  glittering  crowns,  sceptres,  and  other 
regalia,  tend  to  inspire  us  with  ideas  of  majesty.  In  like 
manner  those  sensible  representations  of  Deity,  especially 
when  attended  with  some  rational  descriptions  of  the  divine 
nature,  may  help  us  to  form  higher  conceptions  of  the 
glory  of  God ;  and  the  want  of  such  representations  may 
occasion  less  reverence  and  awe.  For  instance,  had  the 
description  of  the  Deity,  The  LORD  God,  merciful  and 
gracious,  &c.,  been  only  suggested  to  the  mind  of  Moses 
as  an  object  of  calm  contemplation,  it  would  not  have 
struck  him  with  such  profound  reverence,  nor  given  him 
such  clear  or  impressive  ideas  as  when  it  was  proclaimed 
with  a  loud  majestic  voice,  and  attended  with  a  visible 
glory  too  bright  for  mortal  eyes.  Human  nature  is  of 
such  a  make,  that  it  cannot  but  be  affected  with  things  of 
this  nature. 

Consider  the  matter  well  in  the  light  in  which  I  have 
set  it,  and  you  may  see  something  of  the  propriety  and 
good  tendency  of  these  appearances,  and  at  the  same  time 
guard  yourselves  against  mistakes.  Let  me  now  give  you 
what  I  apprehend  the  true  history  of  this  remarkable  and 
illustrious  appearance  of  God  to  Moses. 

Moses  had  enjoyed  frequent  interviews  with  God,  and 
seen  many  symbols  of  his  presence  and  representations  of 
his  glory;  but  he  still  finds  his  knowledge  of  him  very  defec- 
tive, and  apprehends  that  God  might  give  him  some  repre- 
sentation of  his  glory  more  striking  and  illustrious  than 
any  he  had  seen.  Therefore,  finding  that  now  he  was  in 
great  favour  with  him,  he  humbly  moves  this  petition, 


PROCLAIMED  BY  HIMSELF.  449 

/  beseech  thee  show  me  thy  glory ;  "  give  me  some  more 
full  and  majestic  representations  of  thy  glory  than  I  have 
hitherto  seen."     The  Lord  answers  him,  "  I  will  cause 
all  my  goodness,"  that  is  a  glorious,  visible  representation 
of  my  goodness,  which  is,  "  my  glory,  to  pass  before  thee," 
which  may  strike  thy  senses,  and  make  them  the  medium 
of  conveying  to  thy  mind  more  illustrious  and  majestic 
ideas  of  my  glory.     And  as  no  sensible  forms  can  fully  re- 
present the  spiritual  essence  and  perfections  of  my  nature, 
while  I  cause  a  visible  representation  of  my  glory  to  pass 
before  thee,  I  will  at  the  same  time  proclaim  the  name  of 
the  Lord,*  and  describe  some  of  the  principal  perfections 
that  constitute  my  glory  and   goodness.     But  so  bright 
will  be  the  lustre  of  that  form  which  I  shall  assume,  that 
thou  art  not  able  to  see  my  face,  or  the  most  splendid  part 
of  the  representation ;  the  glory  is  too  bright  to  be  beheld 
by  any  mortal,  ver.  20.     But  there  is  a  place  in  a  rock 
where  thou  mayest  wait,  and  I  will  cast  darkness  over  it 
till  the  brightest  part  of  the  form  of  glory  in  which  I  shall 
appear  is  passed  by,  and  then  I  will  open  a  medium  of 
light,  and  thou  shalt  see  my  back  parts ;  that  is  those  parts 
of  the  representation  which  are  less  illustrious,  and  which 
pass  by  last :  the  glory  of  these  thou  shalt  be  enable  to 
bear,  but  my  face  shall  not  be  seen."  ver.  2-23. 

Thus  God  condescended  to  promise ;  and  when  matters 
were  duly  prepared,  he  performs  his  engagement.  The 
Lord  assumed  a  visible  form  of  glory,  and  passed  by  before 
him  and  proclaimed  his  name,  which  includes  his  perfec- 
tions. Things  are  known  by  their  names,  and  God  is 

*  The  LXX  render  the  passage,  /  will  call  by  my  name,  the  LORD  before 
thee.  And  this  is  the  most  literal  translation  of  the  Hebrew:  they  are  ren- 
dered Indamabo  nominatim  Jehovah  ante  faciem  tuam,  by  Junius  and  Tremel- 
lius.  According  to  this  version  the  sense  seems  to  be,  "when  the  symbol  of 
my  glory  is  passing  by,  I  will  give  thee  notice,  and  call  by  my  name  the 
Lord,  that  I  may  not  pass  by  unobserved." 
VOL.  I.— 57 


450  THE   NAME     OF    GOD 

known  by  his  attributes,  therefore  his  name  includes  his 
attributes.  The  proclamation  ran  in  this  august  style, 
"  The  LORD,  the  LORD  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long- 
suffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping 
mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity  and  transgression  and 
sin."  Moses  was  struck  with  reverence  and  admiration, 
and  bowed  and  worshipped. 

My  present  design  is  to  explain  the  several  names  and 
perfections  here  ascribed  to  God,  and  show  that  they  all 
concur  to  constitute  his  goodness.  For  you  must  observe 
this  is  the  connection.  Moses  prays  for  a  view  of  God's 
glory.  God  promises  him  a  view  of  his  goodness,  which 
intimates  that  his  goodness  is  his  glory ;  and  when  he  de- 
scribes his  goodness,  what  is  the  description  1  It  is  "  the 
LORD,  the  LORD  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering, 
and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping*  mercy  for 
thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression  and  sin."  That 
these  attributes  belong  to  his  goodness  we  easily  and  natu- 
rally conceive;  but  what  shall  we  think  of  his  punitive 
justice,  that  awful  and  tremendous  attribute,  the  object 
of  terror  and  aversion  to  sinners  ?  Is  that  a  part  of  his 
goodness  too?  Yes,  when  God  causes  his  goodness  to 
pass  before  Moses,  he  proclaims  as  one  part  of  it,  that  "  he 
will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty ;  and  that  he  visits  the 
iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  to  the  third  and 
fourth  generation."  This  awful  attribute  is  an  important 
part  of  his  goodness,  and  without  it  he  could  not  be  good, 
amiable,  or  glorious. 

I  am  now  about  to  enter  upon  a  subject  the  most  sub- 
lime, august,  and  important,  that  can  come  within  the  com- 

*  The  Hebrews  observe,  that  the  first  letter  of  the  word  translated  keeping, 
is  much  larger  than  usual ;  which  shows  that  a  particular  emphasis  is  to  be 
laid  upon  it ;  as  if  he  should  say,  "  I  most  strictly  and  richly  keep  mercy 
for  thousands  ;  the  treasure  is  immense,  and  can  never  be  exhausted. 


PROCLAIMED    BY    HIMSELF.  451 

pass  of  human  or  angelic  minds,  the  name  and  perfections 
of  the  infinite  and  ever-glorious  God.  I  attempt  it  with 
trembling  and  reverence,  and  I  foresee  I  shall  finish  it  with 
shame  and  confusion :  for  who  by  searching  can  find  out 
God  ?  who  can  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection  ? 
Job  xi.  7.  The  question  of  Agur  mortifies  the  pride  of 
human  knowledge ;  "  What  is  his  name,  and  what  is  his 
Son's  name,  if  thou  canst  tell  ?"  Prov.  xxx.  4.  "  Such 
knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  me ;  it  is  high,  I  cannot 
attain  unto  it."  Psalm  cxxxix.  6.  "  It  is  as  high  as  hea- 
ven ;  what  canst  thou  do  ?  deeper  than  hell ;  what  canst 
thou  know  ?  the  measure  thereof  is  longer  than  the  earth, 
and  broader  than  the  sea."  Job  xi.  8,  9.  Lend  me  your 
skill,  ye  angels,  who  have  seen  his  face  without  intermis- 
sion from  the  first  moment  of  your  happy  existence ;  or  ye 
saints  above,  that  "  see  him  as  he  is,  and  know  even  as  you 
are  known,"  inspire  me  with  your  exalted  ideas,  and  teach 
me  your  celestial  language,  while  I  attempt  to  bring  heaven 
down  to  earth,  and  reveal  its  glories  to  the  eyes  of  mortals. 
In  vain  I  ask ;  their  knowledge  is  incommunicable  to  the 
inhabitants  of  flesh,  and  none  but  immortals  can  learn  the 
language  of  immortality.  But  why  do  I  ask  of  them  ?  Oh 
thou  Father  of  angels  and  of  men,  who  "  canst  perfect  thy 
praise  even  out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings,"  and 
who  canst  open  all  the  avenues  of  knowledge,  and  pour 
thy  glory  upon  created  minds,  do  thou  shine  into  my  heart; 
to  me  give  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  thy  glory ;  I  be- 
seech thee,  show  me  thy  glory  .•  cause  it  to  shine  upon  my 
understanding,  while  I  try  to  display  it  to  thy  people,  that 
they  may  behold,  adore,  and  love. 

As  to  you  my  brethren,  I  solicit  your  most  solemn  and 
reverential  attention,  while  I  would  lead  you  into  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord  your  maker.  One  would  think  a 
kind  of  filial  curiosity  would  inspire  you  with  eager  desires 


452  THE    NAME     OF    GOD 

to  be  acquainted  with  your  divine  Parent  and  original. 
You  would  not  be  willing  to  worship  you  know  not  what, 
or  with  the  Athenians,  adore  an  unknown  God.  Do  you 
not  long  to  know  the  greatest  and  best  of  beings,  the  glim- 
merings of  whose  glory  shine  upon  you  from  heaven  and 
earth  ?  Would  you  not  know  him  in  whose  presence  you 
hope  to  dwell  and  be  happy  for  ever  and  for  ever  ?  Come 
then,  be  all  awe  and  attention,  while  I  proclaim  to  you  his 
name  and  perfections,  "  The  LORD,  the  LORD  God,  mer- 
ciful and  gracious,  long-suffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness 
and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity, 
transgression  and  sin." 

We  may  be  sure  God  has  assumed  to  himself  such 
names  as  are  best  adapted  to  describe  his  nature,  as  far  as 
mortal  language  can  reach.  And  everything  belonging  to 
him  is  so  dear  and  important,  that  his  very  name  deserves 
a  particular  consideration.  This  is  not  to  make  empty 
criticisms  upon  an  arbitrary  unmeaning  sound,  but  to  de- 
rive useful  knowledge  from  a  word  of  the  greatest  empha- 
sis and  significancy. 

The  first  name  in  the  order  of  the  text,  and  in  its  own 
dignity,  is,  the  LORD,  or  Jehovah ;  a  name  here  twice  re- 
peated, to  show  its  importance,  the  LORD  the  LORD,  or 
Jehovah,  Jehovah.  This  is  a  name  peculiar  to  God,  and 
incommunicable  to  the  most  exalted  creature.  The  Apos- 
tle tells  us,  There  are  gods  many  and  lords  many.  1  Cor. 
viii.  5.  Magistrates  in  particular  are  so  called,  because 
their  authority  is  some  shadow  of  the  divine  authority. 
But  the  name  Jehovah,  which  is  rendered  LORD  in  my 
text,  and  in  all  those  places  in  the  Bible,  where  it  is  writ- 
ten in  capitals,  I  say,  this  name  Jehovah  is  appropriated  to 
the  Supreme  Being,  and  never  applied  to  any  other.  He 
claims  it  to  himself,  as  his  peculiar  glory.  Thus  in  Psalm 
Ixxxiii.  ver.  18.  "Thou,  whose  name  alone  is  Jehovah, 


PROCLAIMED  BY  HIMSELF.  453 

art  the  Most  High  over  all  the  earth."  And  in  Isaiah 
xlii.  ver.  8.  /  am  the  LORD,  or  (as  it  is  in  the  original) 
Jehovah;  that  is  my  name,  my  proper  incommunicable 
name,  and  my  glory  will  I  not  give  to  another  ;  that  is,  I 
will  not  allow  another  to  share  with  me  in  the  glory  of 
wearing  this  name.  Thus  also  in  Amos  iv.  ver.  13.  "  Lo, 
he  that  formeth  the  mountains,  and  createth  the  wind,  that 
declareth  unto  man  what  is  in  his  thoughts,  that  maketh 
the  morning  darkness,  and  treadeth  upon  the  high  places 
of  the  earth,  the  LORD,  the  God  of  hosts,  is  his  name,"  his 
distinguishing,  appropriated  name.  There  must  therefore 
be  something  peculiarly  sacred  and  significant  in  this  name, 
since  it  is  thus  incommunicably  appropriated  to  the  only 
one  God. 

The  Jews  had  such  a  prodigious  veneration  for  this 
name  as  amounted  to  a  superstitious  excess.  They  call  it 
"  that  name,"  by  way  of  distinction,  "  The  great  name,  the 
glorious  name,  the  appropriated  name,  the  unutterable 
name,  the  expounded  name,"*  because  they  never  pro- 
nounced it,  except  in  one  instance,  which  I  shall  mention 
presently,  but  always  expounded  it  by  some  other :  thus 
when  the  name  Jehovah  occurred  in  the  Old  Testament, 
they  always  read  it  Adonai  or  Elohim,  the  usual  and  less 
sacred  names,  which  we  translate  Lord  God.  It  was 
never  pronounced  by  the  Jews  in  reading,  prayer,  or  the 
most  solemn  act  of  worship,  much  less  in  common  conver- 
sation, except  once  a  year,  on  the  great  day  of  atonement, 
and  then  only  by  the  high  priest  in  the  sanctuary,  in  pro- 
nouncing the  benediction :  but  at  all  other  times,  places, 
and  occasions,  and  to  all  other  persons,  the  pronunciation 
was  deemed  unlawful.  The  benediction  was  that  which 

*  They  also  distinguish  it  by  the  name  of  the  four  letters  that  composed  it, 
jodh,  he,  van,  he  ;  and  hence  the  Greeks  called  it  the  four-lettered  name.  See 
Buxtorf. 


454  THE    NAME     OF    GOD 

you  read  in  Numbers  vi.  verses  24,  25,  26,  where  the 
name  Jehovah  is  thrice  repeated  in  the  Hebrew,  "  Jehovah 
bless  thee,  and  keep  thee  :  Jehovah  make  his  face  to  shine 
upon  thee,  and  be  gracious  unto  thee  :  Jehovah  lift  up  his 
countenance  upon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace."  When  this 
venerable  name  was  pronounced  upon  this  occasion,  we  are 
told  by  the  Jewish  rabbies,  "  that  all  the  vast  congregation 
then  present  bowed  the  knee,  and  fell  down  in  the  hum- 
blest prostration,  crying  out,  Blessed  be  his  glorious  name 
for  ever  and  ever."  They  supposed  this  name  had  a 
miraculous  virtue  in  it,  and  that  by  it  Moses  and  others 
wrought  such  wonders :  nay,  so  great  was  their  supersti- 
tion that  they  thought  it  a  kind  of  charm  or  magical  word, 
and  that  he  that  had  it  about  him,  and  knew  its  true  pronun- 
ciation and  virtue,  could  perform  the  most  surprising  things, 
and  even  shake  heaven  and  earth.* 

I  do  not  mention  these  things  with  approbation,  but 
only  to  show  that  there  is  something  peculiarly  significant, 
important,  und  sacred  in  this  name,  from  whence  the  Jews 
took  occasion  for  such  extravagant  notions ;  and  this  will 
appear  from  its  etymology.  You  know  it  is  not  my  usual 
method  to  carry  a  great  quantity  of  learned  disquisition 
with  me  into  the  pulpit,  or  to  spend  your  time  in  trifling, 
pedantic  criticisms  upon  words,  which  may  indeed  have  a 
show  of  literature,  and  amuse  those  who  admire  what  they 
do  not  understand,  but  can  answer  no  valuable  end  in  a 
popular  audience.  However,  at  present  I  must  take  the 
liberty  of  showing  you  the  original  meaning  of  the  name 
Jehovah,  that  I  may  thoroughly  explain  my  text,  and  that 

*  This  name  seems  not  to  have  been  unknown  among  other  nations. 
Hence  probably  is  derived  the  name  Jovis,  Jove,  the  Latin  name  for  the 
Supreme  God.  And  it  is  probably  in  allusion  to  this  that  Varro  says, 
"  Deum  Judseorum  esse  Jovem."  The  Moors  also  called  God  Jubah,  and 
the  Mahometans  Hou  ;  which  in  their  language  signifies  the  same  with  Je- 
hovah, namely,  He  who  is.  Seo  Univ.  Hist  Vol.  III.  p.  357,  note  T. 


PROCLAIMED    BY    HIMSELF.  455 

you  may  know  the  import  of  a  name  that  will  occur  so 
often  to  you  in  reading  your  Bibles  ;  for,  as  I  told  you,  wher- 
ever you  meet  with  the  word  LORD  in  large  letters,  it  is 
always  Jehovah  in  the  original. 

The  name  Jehovah  is  derived  from  the  Hebrew  verb, 
to  be  ;  and  therefore  the  meaning  of  the  word  Jehovah  is, 
The  existent,  the  being,  or,  He  that  is.  Thus  it  seems  ex- 
plained in  Exodus  iii.  ver.  14.  I  AM  THAT  I  AM,  or,  "  I 
am  because  I  am ;"  that  is,  I  exist,  and  have  being  in  and 
of  myself  without  dependence  upon  any  cause ;  and  my 
existence  or  being  is  always  the  same,  unchangeable  and 
eternal.  St.  John  well  explains  this  name  by  the  Who  is, 
who  was,  and  who  is  to  come  ;  or,  as  the  passage  might  be 
rendered,  "  The  present  Being,  the  past  Being,  and  the 
future  Being ;"  or,  The  Being  that  is,  the  Being  that  was, 
and  the  Being  that  will  be;  that  is,  the  perpetual,  the 
eternal,  and  unchangeable  Being.  I  shall  only  observe 
farther,  that  Jehovah  is  not  a  relative,  but  an  absolute 
name :  there  is  no  pronoun  or  relative  word  that  is  ever 
joined  with  it ;  we  can  say,  My  Lord,  our  Lord,  our  God, 
&c.,  but  the  Hebrews  never  say  or  write,  My  Jehovah, 
our  Jehovah,  &c. ;  so  that  this  name  represents  him  as  he 
is  in  himself,  without  any  relation  to  his  creatures,  as  he 
would  have  been  if  they  had  never  existed.  He  would 
still  have  been  the  Being,  the  absolute,  independent  ex- 
istent, in  which  view  he  has  nothing  to  do  with  his  crea- 
tures, and  can  sustain  no  relation  to  them. 

From  this  name,  thus  explained,  we  learn  the  following 
glorious,  incommunicable  perfections  of  God;  that  he  is 
self-existent  and  independent ;  that  his  being  is  necessary ; 
that  he  is  eternal ;  and  that  he  is  unchangeable. 

While  I  am  about  to  enter  upon  these  subjects,  I  seem 
to  stand  upon  the  brink  of  an  unbounded,  fathomless  ocean, 
and  tremble  to  launch  into  it;  but,  under  the  conduct  of 


456  THE    NAME    OF    GOD 

Scripture  and  humble  reason,  let  us  make  the  adventure ; 
for  it  is  a  happiness  to  be  lost  and  swallowed  in  such  an 
ocean  of  perfection. 

1.  The  name  Jehovah  implies  that  God  is  self-existent 
and  independent.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  that  he  pro- 
duced himself,  for  that  would  be  a  direct  contradiction, 
and  suppose  him  to  exist,  and  not  to  exist  at  the  same 
time :  but  I  mean  that  the  reason  and  ground  of  his  exist- 
ence is  in  his  own  nature,  and  does  not  at  all  depend  upon 
anything  besides.  Being  is  essential  to  him.  He  con- 
tains an  infinite  fulness  of  being  in  himself,  and  no  other 
being  has  contributed  in  the  least  towards  his  existence ;  and 
hence  with  great  propriety  he  assumes  that  strange  name,  / 
Am.  He  is  Being  throughout,  perfectly  and  universally 
vital;  and  the  reason  of  this  is  entirely  within  his  own  nature. 

How  gloriously  is  he  distinguished  in  this  respect  from 
all  other  beings,  even  the  most  illustrious  and  powerful ! 
Time  was,  when  they  were  nothing.  Angels  and  arch- 
angels, men  and  beasts,  sun,  moon,  and  stars ;  in  short,  the 
whole  universe  besides,  were  once  nothing,  had  no  being 
at  all :  and  what  was  the  reason  that  they  ever  came  into 
being  ?  Certainly  it  was  not  in  them :  when  they  were 
nothing  there  was  no  reason  at  all  in  them  why  they 
should  ever  be  something :  for  in  not  being,  there  can  be 
no  reason  or  ground  for  being.  The  mere  pleasure  of 
God,  the  fiat  of  this  self-existing  Jehovah,  is  the  only  reason 
and  sole  cause  of  their  existence.  If  it  had  not  been  for 
him,  they  would  have  continued  nothing  as  they  were : 
their  being  therefore  is  entirely  precarious,  dependent,  and 
wholly  proceeds  from  a  cause  without  themselves.  But 
Jehovah  glories  in  an  unborrowed,  underived,  independent 
being.  Whatever  he  is,  it  is  his  own  :  he  owes  it  only  to 
himself.  What  a  glorious  Being  is  this  !  how  infinitely 
different  from  and  superior  to  the  whole  system  of  crea- 


PROCLAIMED    BY    HIMSELF.  457 

tures  !  Are  you  not  already  constrained  to  bow  the  knee 
before  him,  and  wonder,  adore,  and  love  1  But, 

II.  Hence  it  follows  that  his  existence  is  necessary; 
that  is,  it  is  impossible  for  him  not  to  be.  His  being  does 
not  depend  upon  any  thing  without  him,  nor  does  it  de- 
pend upon  his  own  arbitrary  will,  but  it  is  essential  to  his 
nature.  That  he  should  not  be  is  as  great  an  impossibility 
as  that  two  and  two  should  not  make  four.  It  is  impossi- 
ble that  any  thing  should  be  more  closely  connected  with 
any  thing  than  being  is  with  his  essence,  and  it  is  impossi- 
ble any  thing  should  be  more  opposite  to  any  thing  than 
he  is  to  non-existence.  Since  he  received  his  being  from 
nothing  without  himself,  and  since  the  reason  of  his  ex- 
istence is  not  derived  from  any  other,  it  follows,  that  un- 
less he  exists  by  the  necessity  of  his  own  nature,  he  must 
exist  without  any  necessity :  that  is,  without  any  reason  at 
all,  which  is  the  same  as  to  say  that  nothing  is  the  cause 
or  ground  of  his  existence ;  and  what  imagination  can  be 
more  absurd !  His  being  therefore  must  exist  by  an  ab- 
solute, independent  necessity. 

What  a  glorious  Being  is  this!  how  infinitely  distant 
from  nothing,  or  a  possibility  of  not  being !  What  an  un- 
bounded fund  of  existence,  what  an  immense  ocean  of 
Being  is  here !  Alas !  what  are  we,  what  is  the  whole 
universe  besides  in  this  comparison  ?  They  are  nothing, 
less  than  nothing,  and  vanity.  Our  Being  is  not  only  de- 
rived but  arbitrary,  depending  entirely  upon  the  mere 
pleasure  of  Jehovah.  There  was  no  necessity  from  our 
nature  that  we  should  be  at  all ;  and  now  there  is  no  ne- 
cessity that  we  should  continue  to  be.  If  we  exist,  it  is 
not  owing  to  us.  "  He  made  us,  and  not  we  ourselves;" 
and  if  we  shall  continue  to  be  for  ever,  it  is  not  owin^  to 
a  fund  of  being  within  ourselves,  but  to  the  same  God  who 
first  formed  us.  It  is  but  lately  since  we  sprung  from 

VOL.  I.— 58 


458  THE    NAME    OF    GOD 

nothing,  and  how  near  are  we  still  to  the  confines  of  no- 
thing! We  hang  over  the  dreadful  gulf  of  annihilation  by 
a  slender  thread  of  being,  sustained  by  the  self-originated 
Jehovah.  Remove  him,  take  away  his  agency,  and  uni- 
versal nature  sinks  into  nothing  at  once.  Take  away  the 
root,  and  the  branches  wither :  dry  up  the  fountain,  and  the 
streams  cease.  If  any  of  you  are  such  fools  as  to  wish  in 
your  hearts  there  were  no  God,  you  imprecate  annihila- 
tion upon  the  whole  universe;  you  wish  total  destruction 
to  yourself  and  every  thing  else ;  you  wish  the  extinction 
of  all  being.  All  depend  upon  God,  the  uncaused  cause, 
the  only  necessary  Being.  Suffer  me  here  to  make  a 
digression.  Is  this  the  God  whom  the  daring  sons  of  men 
so  much  forget,  dishonour,  and  disobey  1  Are  they  so 
entirely  dependent  upon  him,  and  yet  careless  how  they 
behave  towards  him,  careless  whether  they  love  and  please 
him  ?  Do  they  owe  their  being  and  their  all  entirely  to 
him  ?  And  are  they  wholly  in  his  hand  ?  What  then  do 
they  mean  by  withholding  their  thoughts  and  affections 
from  him,  breaking  his  laws  and  neglecting  his  gospel  ? 
Can  you  find  a  name  for  such  a  conduct?  Would  it  not 
be  entirely  incredible  did  we  not  see  it  with  our  eyes  all 
around  us  ?  Sinners,  what  mean  you  by  this  conduct  ? 
Let  the  infant  rend  the  womb  that  conceived  it,  or  tear 
the  breasts  that  cherish  it;  go,  poison  or  destroy  the 
bread  that  should  feed  you;  dry  up  the  streams  that 
should  allay  your  thirst ;  stop  the  breath  that  keeps  you  in 
life :  do  these  things,  or  do  any  thing,  but  oh !  do  not  for- 
get, disobey,  and  provoke  the  very  Father  of  your  being, 
to  whom  you  owe  it  that  you  are  not  as  much  nothing 
now  as  you  were  ten  thousand  years  ago,  and  on  whom 
you  depend,  not  only  for  this  and  that  mercy,  but  for  your 
very  being,  every  moment  of  your  existence,  in  time  and 
eternity.  He  can  do  very  well  without  you,  but  oh  what 


PROCLAIMED    BY    HIMSELF.  459 

are  you  without  him !  a  stream  without  a  fountain,  a  branch 
without  a  root,  an  effect  without  a  cause,  a  mere  blank,  a 
nothing.  He  indeed  is  self-sufficient  and  self-existent. 
It  is  nothing  to  him,  as  to  his  existence,  whether  creation 
exists  or  not.  Let  men  and  angels  and  every  creature 
sink  to  nothing,  from  whence  they  came,  his  being  is  still 
secure :  he  enjoys  an  unprecarious  being  of  his  own,  ne- 
cessarily, unchangeably,  and  eternally  existent.  Men  and 
angels  bow  the  knee,  fall  prostrate  and  adore  before  this 
Being  of  beings.  How  mean  are  you  in  his  presence ! 
what  poor,  arbitrary,  dependent,  perishing  creatures ! 
what  shadows  of  existence  !  what  mere  nothings !  And  is 
it  not  fit  you  should  humbly  acknowledge  it  1  Can  there 
be  any  thing  more  unnatural,  any  thing  more  foolish,  any 
thing  more  audaciously  wicked,  than  to  neglect  or  con- 
temn such  a  Being,  the  Being  of  beings,  the  Being  that  in- 
cludes all  being  ?  I  can  hardly  bear  up  under  the  horror 
of  the  thought. 

III.  The  name  Jehovah  implies  that  God  is  eternal 
that  is,  he  always  was,  is,  and  ever  will  be.  From  ever- 
lasting to  everlasting  he  is  God.  Psalm  xc.  2.  This  is 
his  grand  peculiarity,  he  only  hath  immortality,  1  Tim.  vi. 
16,  in  a  full  and  absolute  sense.  Men  and  angels  indeed 
are  immortal,  but  it  is  but  a  kind  of  half-eternity  they 
enjoy.  They  once  were  nothing,  and  continued  in  that 
state  through  an  eternal  duration.  But  as  Jehovah  never 
will  have  an  end,  so  he  never  had  a  beginning.  This  fol- 
lows from  his  necessary  self-existence.  If  the  reason  of 
his  existence  be  in  himself,  then  unless  he  always  existed 
he  never  could  exist,  for  nothing  without  himself  could 
cause  him  to  exist.  And  if  he  exists  by  absolute  necessity, 
he  must  always  exist,  for  absolute  necessity  is  always  the 
same,  without  any  relation  to  time  or  place.  Therefore 
he  always  was  and  ever  will  be. 


460  THE  NAME    OF    GOD 

And  what  a  wonderful  Being  is  this !  a  Being  unbegun, 
and  that  can  never  have  an  end!  a  being  possessed  of  a 
complete,  entire  eternity.  Here,  my  brethren,  let  your 
thoughts  take  wing,  and  fly  backward  and  forward,  and 
see  if  you  can  trace  his  existence.  Fly  back  in  thought 
about  six  thousand  years,  and  all  nature,  as  far  as  appears 
to  us,  was  a  mere  blank;  no  heaven  nor  earth,  no  men 
nor  angels.  But  still  the  great  Eternal  lived — lived  alone, 
self-sufficient  and  self-happy.  Fly  forward  in  thought  as 
far  as  the  conflagration,  and  you  will  see  "the  heavens 
dissolving,  and  the  earth  and  the  things  that  are  therein 
burnt  up;"  but  still  Jehovah  lives  unchangeable,  and  ab- 
solutely independent.  Exert  all  the  powers  of  numbers, 
add  centuries  to  centuries,  thousands  to  thousands,  millions 
to  millions;  fly  back,  back,  back,  as  far  as  thought  can 
possibly  carry  you,  still  Jehovah  exists :  nay,  you  are  even 
then  as  far  from  the  first  moment  of  his  existence  as  you 
are  now,  or  ever  can  be.  Take  the  same  prospect  before 
you,  and  you  will  find  the  King  eternal  and  immortal  still 
the  same :  he  is  then  no  nearer  an  end  than  at  the  creation, 
or  millions  of  ages  before  it. 

What  a  glorious  being  is  this!  Here,  again,  let  men 
and  angels,  and  all  the  offspring  of  time,  bow  the  knee  and 
adore.  Let  them  lose  themselves  in  this  ocean,  and  spend 
their  eternity  in  ecstatic  admiration  and  love  of  this  eternal 
Jehovah. 

Oh !  what  a  glorious  portion  is  he  to  his  people !  Your 
earthly  enjoyments  may  pass  away  like  a  shadow;  your 
friends  die,  yourselves  must  die,  and  heaven  and  earth 
may  vanish  like  a  dream,  but  your  God  lives !  he  lives  for 
ever,  to  give  you  a  happiness  equal  to  your  immortal  dura- 
tion. Therefore,  blessed,  blessed  is  the  people  whose  God 
is  the  LORD. 

But  oh!  let  sinners,  let  wicked  men  and  devils  tremble 


PROCLAIMED    BY    HIMSELF.  461 

before  him,  for  how  dreadful  an  enemy  is  an  eternal  God ! 
He  lives  for  ever  to  punish  you.  He  lives  for  ever  to 
hate  your  sin,  to  resent  your  rebellion,  and  to  display  his 
justice;  and  while  he  lives  you  must  be  miserable.  What 
a  dismal  situation  are  you  in,  when  the  eternal  existence 
of  Jehovah  is  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  terror  to  you !  Oh 
how  have  you  inverted  the  order  of  things,  when  you  have 
made  it  your  interest  that  the  Fountain  of  being  should 
cease  to  be,  and  that  with  him  yourselves  and  all  other 
creatures  should  vanish  into  nothing!  What  a  malignant 
thing  is  sin,  that  makes  existence  a  curse,  and  universal 
annihilation  a  blessing!  What  a  strange  region  is  hell, 
where  being,  so  sweet  in  itself,  and  the  capacity  of  all  en- 
joyments, is  become  the  most  intolerable  burden,  and 
every  wish  is  an  imprecation  of  universal  annihilation! 
Sinners,  you  have  now  time  to  consider  these  miseries  and 
avoid  them,  and  will  you  be  so  senseless  and  fool-hardy  as 
to  rush  headlong  into  them  1  Oh !  if  you  were  but  sen- 
sible what  will  be  the  consequences  of  your  conduct  in  a 
few  years,  you  would  not  need  persuasions  to  reform  it : 
but  oh  the  fatal  blindness  and  stupidity  of  mortals,  who 
will  not  be  convinced  of  these  things  till  the  conviction  be 
too  late ! 

IV.  The  name  of  Jehovah  implies  that  God  is  un- 
changeable, or  always  the  same.  If  he  exists  necessarily, 
he  must  always  necessarily  be  what  he  is,  and  cannot  be 
any  thing  else.  He  is  dependent  upon  none,  and  there- 
fore he  can  be  subject  to  no  change  from  another;  and 
he  is  infinitely  perfect,  and  therefore  cannot  desire  to 
change  himself.  So  that  he  must  be  always  the  same 
through  all  duration,  from  eternity  to  eternity :  the  same, 
not  only  as  to  his  being,  but  as  to  his  perfections;  the 
same  in  power,  wisdom,  goodness,  justice,  and  happiness. 
Thus  he  represents  himself  in  his  word,  as  "  the  Father 


462  THE   NAME    OF   GOD 

of  lights,  with  whom  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  6f 
turning:"  James  i.  17;  "the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day, 
and  for  ever;"  Heb.  xiii.  8.  What  a  distinguished  per- 
fection is  this!  and  indeed  it  is  in  Jehovah  only  that  im- 
mutability can  be  a  perfection.  The  most  excellent 
creature  is  capable  of  progressive  improvements,  and 
seems  intended  for  it;  and  to  fix  such  a  creature  at  first 
in  an  immutable  state,  would  be  to  limit  and  restrain  it 
from  higher  degrees  of  perfection,  and  keep  it  always  in  a 
state  of  infancy.  But  Jehovah  is  absolutely,  completely, 
and  infinitely  perfect,  at  the  highest  summit  of  all  possible 
excellency,  infinitely  beyond  any  addition  to  his  perfection, 
and  absolutely  incapable  of  improvement;  and  consequently, 
and  as  there  is  no  room  for,  so  there  is  no  need  of,  a  change 
in  him;  and  his  immutability  is  a  perpetual,  invariable  con- 
tinuance in  the  highest  degree  of  excellency,  and  therefore 
the  highest  perfection.  He  is  the  cause  and  the  spectator 
of  an  endless  variety  of  changes  in  the  universe,  without 
the  least  change  in  himself.  He  sees  worlds  springing 
into  being,  existing  awhile,  and  then  dissolving.  He  sees 
kingdoms  and  empires  forming,  rising,  and  rushing  head- 
long to  ruin.  He  changes  the  times  and  the  seasons;  he 
removeth  kings,  and  setteth  up  kings :  Dan.  ii.  21;  and  he 
sees  the  fickleness  and  vicissitudes  of  mortals;  he  sees 
generations  upon  generations  vanishing  like  successive 
shadows;  he  sees  them  now  wise,  now  foolish;  now  in 
pursuit  of  one  thing,  now  of  another;  now  happy,  now 
miserable,  and  in  a  thousand  different  forms.  He  sees 
the  revolutions  in  nature,  the  successions  of  the  seasons, 
and  of  night  and  day.  These  and  a  thousand  other 
alterations  he  beholds,  and  they  are  all  produced  or  per- 
mitted by  his  all-ruling  providence;  but  all  these  make  no 
change  in  him;  his  being,  his  perfections,  his  counsels, 
and  his  happiness,  are  invariably  and  eternally  the  same.  > 


PROCLAIMED  BY  HIMSELF.  463 

He  is  not  wise,  good,  just,  or  happy,  only  at  times,  but 
he  is  equally,  steadily,  and  immutably  so  through  the 
whole  of  his  infinite  duration.  Oh  how  unlike  the  fleet- 
ing offspring  of  time,  and  especially  the  changing  race  of 
man! 

Since  Jehovah  is  thus  constant  and  unchangeable,  how 
worthy  is  he  to  be  chosen  as  our  best  friend !  You  that 
love  him  need  fear  no  change  in  him.  They  are  not 
small  matters  that  will  turn  his  heart  from  you :  his  love  is 
fixed  with  judgment,  and  he  never  will  see  reason  to  re- 
verse it :  it  is  not  a  transient  fit  of  fondness,  but  it  is  de- 
liberate, calm,  and  steady.  You  may  safely  trust  your  all 
in  his  hands,  for  he  cannot  deceive  you;  and  whatever  or 
whoever  fail  you,  he  will  not.  You  live  in  a  fickle,  un- 
certain world ;  your  best  friends  may  prove  treacherous 
or  cool  towards  you ;  all  your  earthly  comforts  may  wither 
and  die  around  you;  yea,  heaven  and  earth  may  pass  away; 
but  your  God  is  still  the  same.  He  has  assured  you  of  it 
with  his  own  mouth,  and  pointed  out  to  you  the  happy 
consequences  of  it :  "I  am  the  LORD ;"  Jehovah,  says  he, 
"  I  change  not ;  therefore  ye  sons  of  Jacob  are  not  con- 
sumed :"  Mai.  iii.  6. 

What  a  complete  happiness  is  this  Jehovah  to  those 
who  have  chosen  him  for  their  portion !  If  an  infinite 
God  is  now  sufficient  to  satisfy  your  utmost  desires,  he 
will  be  so  to  all  eternity.  He  is  an  ocean  of  communica- 
tive happiness  that  never  ebbs  or  flows,  and  therefore  com- 
pletely blessed  will  you  ever  be  who  have  an  interest  in 
him. 

But  oh !  how  miserable  are  they  who  are  the  enemies 
of  this  Jehovah!  Sinners,  he  is  unchangeable,  and  can 
never  lay  aside  his  resentments  against  sin,  or  abate  in  the 
least  degree  in  his  love  of  virtue  and  holiness.  He  will 
never  recede  from  his  purpose  to  punish  impenitent  rebels, 


464        THE  NAME  OF  GOD  PROCLAIMED  BY  HIMSELF. 

nor  lose  his  power  to  accomplish  it.  His  hatred  of  all 
moral  evil  is  not  a  transient  passion,  but  a  fixed,  invariable, 
deep-rooted  hatred.  Therefore,  if  ever  you  be  happy, 
there  must  be  a  change  in  you.  As  you  are  so  opposite 
to  him,  there  must  be  an  alteration  in  the  one  or  the  other ; 
you  see  it  cannot  be  in  him,  and  therefore  it  must  be  in 
you ;  and  this  you  ought  to  labour  for  above  all  other 
things.  Let  us  then  have  grace,  whereby  we  may  serve 
God  acceptably,  with  reverence  and  godly  fear ;  for  our 
God  is  a  consuming  fire,  (Heb.  xii.  28,  29,)  to  his  impeni- 
tent and  implacable  enemies.* 

*  Our  author  has  evidently  not  finished  his  subject,  and  I  do  not  find  it 
prosecuted  in  any  of  the  discourses  that  have  come  to  my  hands  ;  but  yet  I 
determined  to  publish  the  sermon,  not  only  for  its  own  (if  I  mistake  not) 
substantial  worth,  but  the  rather  as  the  sermon  that  next  follows  in  order, 
may  be  considered  as  a  prosecution,  if  not  a  completion  of  the  great  and 
glorious  subject  he  has  undertaken,  particularly  of  his  professed  design  in 
this  sermon,  "of  explaining  the  several  perfections  here  ascribed  to  God, 
and  showing  that  they  all  concur  to  constitute  his  goodness.  The  Editor. 


GOD    IS    LOVE.  465 


SERMON  XVIII. 

GOD    IS    LOVE. 

1  JOHN  iv.  8. — God  is  love. 

LOVE  is  a  gentle,  pleasing  theme,  the  noblest  passion 
of  the  human  breast,  and  the  fairest  ornament  of  the  ra- 
tional nature.  Love  is  the  cement  of  society,  and  the 
source  of  social  happiness ;  and  without  it  the  great  com- 
munity of  the  rational  universe  would  dissolve,  and  men 
and  angels  would  turn  savages,  and  roam  apart  in  barbar- 
ous solitude.  Love  is  the  spring  of  every  pleasure;  for 
who  could  take  pleasure  in  the  possession  of  what  he  does 
not  love !  Love  is  the  foundation  of  religion  and  mo- 
rality ;  for  what  is  more  monstrous  than  religion  without 
love  to  that  God  who  is  the  object  of  it  ?  Or  who  can 
perform  social  duties  without  feeling  the  endearments  of 
those  relations  to  which  they  belong?  Love  is  the 
softener  and  polisher  of  human  minds,  and  transforms  bar- 
barians into  men;  its  pleasures  are  refined  and  delicate, 
and  even  its  pains  and  anxieties  have  something  in  them 
soothing  and  pleasing.  In  a  word,  love  is  the  brightest 
beam  of  divinity  that  has  ever  irradiated  the  creation ;  the 
nearest  resemblance  to  the  ever-blessed  God;  for  God  is 
love. 

God  is  love.     There  is  an  unfathomable  depth  in  this 

concise  laconic  sentence,  which  even  the  penetration  of  an 

angel's  mind  cannot  reach ;  an  ineffable  excellence,  which 

even  celestial  eloquence  cannot  fully  represent.     God  is 

VOL.  I — 59 


466  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

love;  not  only  lovely  and  loving,  but  love  itself;  pure, 
unmixed  love,  nothing  but  love ;  love  in  his  nature  and  in 
his  operations ;  the  object,  source,  and  quintessence  of  all 
love. 

My  present  design  is  to  recommend  the  Deity  to  your 
affections  under  the  amiable  idea  of  love,  and  for  that  end 
to  show  that  his  other  perfections  are  but  various  modifi- 
cations of  love. 

I.  Love  comprehends  the  various  forms  of  divine  be- 
neficence. Goodness,  that  extends  its  bounties  to  innu- 
merable ranks  of  creatures,  and  diffuses  happiness  through 
the  various  regions  of  the  universe,  except  that  which  is 
set  apart  for  the  dreadful,  but  salutary  and  benevolent  pur- 
pose of  confining  and  punishing  incorrigible  malefactors; 
grace,  which  so  richly  showers  its  blessings  upon  the  un- 
deserving, without  past  merit  or  the  prospect  of  future 
compensation ;  mercy,  that  commisserates  and  relieves  the 
miserable  as  well  as  the  undeserving ;  patience  and  long- 
suffering,  which  so  long  tolerate  insolent  and  provoking 
offenders ;  what  is  all  this  beneficence  in  all  these  its  dif- 
ferent forms  towards  different  objects,  what  but  love  under 
various  names  ?  It  is  gracious,  merciful,  patient  and  long- 
suffering  love ;  love  variegated,  overflowing,  and  unbounded ; 
what  but  love  was  the  Creator  of  such  a  world  as  this,  so 
well  accommodated,  so  richly  furnished  for  the  sustenance 
and  comfort  of  its  inhabitants?  and  what  but  love  has 
planted  it  so  thick  with  an  endless  variety  of  beings,  all 
capable  of  receiving  some  stream  of  happiness  from  that 
immense  fountain  of  it,  the  divine  goodness  ?  Is  it  not 
love  that  preserves  such  an  huge  unwieldy  world  as  this 
in  order  and  harmony  from  age  to  age,  and  supplies  all  its 
numerous  inhabitants  with  every  good  ?  and  oh !  was  it 
not  love,  free,  rich,  unmerited  love,  that  provided  a  Saviour 
for  the  guilty  children  of  men?  It  was  because  God 


GOD    IS    LOVE.  467 

loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life.  John  iii.  16.  Oh  love,  what  hast  thou 
done !  what  wonders  hast  thou  wrought !  It  was  thou, 
almighty  love,  that  broughtest  down  the  Lord  of  glory 
from  his  celestial  throne,  to  die  upon  a  cross  an  atoning 
sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  And  what  but  love  is 
it  that  peoples  the  heavenly  world  with  colonies  trans- 
planted from  this  rebellious  province  of  Jehovah's  domin- 
ions ;  that  forms  such  miracles  of  glory  and  happiness  out 
of  the  dust,  and  the  shattered,  polluted  fragments  of 
human  nature !  and  what  but  eternal  love  perpetuates  their 
bliss  through  an  eternal  duration?  but  it  is  so  evident,  that 
these  instances  of  divine  goodness  are  only  the  effects 
of  love,  that  it  is  needless  to  attempt  any  farther  illustra- 
tion. 

II.  What  is  divine  wisdom  but  a  modification  of  divine 
love,  planning  the  best  adapted  schemes  for  communi- 
cating itself  in  the  most  advantageous,  beneficent,  and 
honourable  manner,  so  as  to  promote  the  good  of  the 
great  whole  or  collective  system  of  creatures  by  the  hap- 
piness of  individuals;  or  to  render  the  punishment  and 
misery  of  individuals,  which,  for  important  reasons  of  state 
may  be  sometimes  necessary  in  a  good  government,  sub- 
servient to  the  same  benevolent  end  ?  Whatever  traces 
of  divine  wisdom  we  see  in  creation ;  as  the  order  and 
harmony  of  the  great  system  of  nature,  its  rich  and  various 
furniture,  and  the  conspiracy  of  all  its  parts  to  produce 
the  good  of  each  other  and  the  whole ;  whatever  divine 
wisdom  appears  in  conducting  the  great  scheme  of  pro- 
vidence through  the  various  ages  of  time ;  or  in  the  more 
astonishing  and  godlike  work  of  redemption ;  in  a  word, 
whatever  displays  of  divine  wisdom  appear  in  any  part  of 
the  universe,  they  are  only  the  signatures  of  divine  love. 


468  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

Why  was  yonder  sun  fixed  where  he  is,  and  enriched  with 
such  extensive  vital  influences,  but  because  divine  love  saw 
it  was  best  and  most  conducive  to  the  good  of  the  system ; 
Why  were  our  bodies  so  wonderfully  and  fearfully  made, 
and  all  their  parts  so  well  fitted  for  action  and  enjoyment, 
but  because  divine  love  drew  the  plan,  and  stamped  its 
own  amiable  image  upon  them  ?  Why  was  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  God  displayed,  not  only  to  mortals,  but  also  to 
angelic  principalities  and  powers,  Eph.  iii.  10,  in  the 
scheme  of  redemption,  which  advances  at  once  the  honours 
of  the  divine  perfections  and  government,  and  the  happi- 
piness  of  rebellious  and  ruined  creatures,  by  an  expedient 
which  nothing  but  infinite  wisdom  could  ever  devise,  the 
incarnation,  the  obedience,  and  passion  of  the  co-equal 
Son  of  God  ?  Why,  I  say,  but  because  divine  love  would 
otherwise  be  under  restraint,  and  incapable  of  giving  full 
scope  to  its  kind  propensions  in  a  manner  honourable  to 
itself  and  conducive  to  the  public  good?  In  short,  divine 
wisdom  appears  to  be  nothing  else  but  the  sagacity  of  love, 
to  discover  ways  and  means  to  exercise  itself  to  the  great- 
est advantage;  or,  which  is  the  same,  divine  wisdom  al- 
ways acts  under  the  benign  determination  and  conduct  of 
love;  it  is  the  counsellor  of  love  to  project  schemes  sub- 
servient to  its  gracious  purposes;  and  in  all  its  councils 
love  presides. 

III.  What  is  divine  power  but  the  omnipotence  of  love  ? 
Why  did  omnipotence  exert  itself  in  the  production  of  this 
vast  amazing  world  out  of  nothing  ?  It  was  to  open  a 
channel  in  which  the  overflowing  ocean  of  love  might  ex- 
tend itself,  and  diffuse  its  streams  from  creature  to  crea- 
ture, upwards  as  high  as  the  most  exalted  archangel,  and 
downwards  as  low  as  the  meanest  vital  particle  of  being, 
and  extensive  as  the  remotest  limits  of  the  universe,  and 
all  the  innumerable  intermediate  ranks  of  existence  in  the 


GOD    IS    LOVE.  469 

endless  chain  of  nature.  And  why  does  divine  power 
still  support  this  prodigious  frame,  but  to  keep  the  channel 
of  love  open  from  age  to  age?  and  for  this  purpose  it  will 
be  exerted  to  all  eternity.  Perhaps  I  should  assist  your 
ideas  of  divine  power,  if  I  should  call  it  the  acting  hand, 
the  instrument,  the  servant  of  love,  to  perform  its  orders, 
and  execute  its  gracious  designs. 

IV.  What  is  the  holiness  of  God  but  love — pure  re- 
fined, and  honourable  love?  What  is  it  but  the  love  of 
excellence,  rectitude,  and  moral  goodness?  Holiness,  in 
its  own  nature,  has  a  tendency  to  promote  the  happiness 
of  the  universe ;  it  is  the  health,  the  good  constitution  of 
a  reasonable  being;  without  which  it  has  no  capacity  of 
relishing  those  enjoyments  which  are  suitable  to  its  nature. 
It  is  no  arbitrary  mandate  of  heaven  that  has  established 
the  inseparable  connection  between  holiness  and  happiness, 
between  vice  and  misery.  The  connection  is  as  necessary, 
as  immutable,  and  as  much  founded  in  the  nature  of  things, 
as  that  between  health  of  body  and  a  capacity  of  animal 
enjoyments,  or  between  sickness  and  a  disrelish  for  the 
most  agreeable  food.  Every  creature  in  the  universe,  as 
far  as  he  is  holy,  is  happy;  and  as  far  as  he  is  unholy,  he 
is  miserable.  Therefore,  by  how  much  the  more  holy 
Jehovah  is,  by  so  much  the  more  fit  he  is  to  communicate 
happiness  to  all  that  enjoy  him ;  and  consequently  he  is  an 
infinite  happiness,  for  he  is  infinitely  holy.  His  taking  so 
much  care  to  promote  holiness  is  but  taking  care  of  the 
public  good.  The  strict  exactions  of  his  law,  which  con- 
tains every  ingredient  of  the  most  perfect  holiness,  and  ad- 
mits of  no  dispensation,  are  but  strict  injunctions  to  his 
subjects  to  pursue  that  course  which  infallibly  leads  them 
to  the  most  consummate  happiness ;  and  every  abatement 
in  his  demands  of  obedience  would  be  a  license  to  them  to 
deduct  so  much  from  their  happiness,  and  render  them- 


470  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

selves  so  far  miserable  with  his  consent.  That  mitigation 
of  the  rigour  of  his  law,  which  some  imagine  he  has  made 
to  bring  it  down  to  a  level  with  the  abilities  of  degenerate 
creatures,  disabled  by  their  voluntary  wickedness,  would 
no  more  contribute  to  their  felicity  than  the  allowing  a 
sick  man  to  gratify  his  vitiated  taste  by  mixing  a  little 
deadly  poison  in  his  food  would  contribute  to  the  recovery 
of  his  health,  or  the  preservation  of  his  life.  The  penal 
sanctions  of  the  divine  law  are  but  friendly  warnings  against 
danger  and  misery,  and  honest  admonitions  of  the  destruc- 
tive consequences  of  sin,  according  to  the  unchangeable 
nature  of  things ;  they  are  threatenings  which  discover  no 
malignity  or  ill-nature,  as  sinners  are  apt  to  imagine,  but 
the  infinite  benevolence  of  the  heart  of  God ;  threatenings 
which  are  not  primarily  and  unconditionally  intended  to 
be  executed,  but  to  prevent  all  occasion  of  their  being  exe- 
cuted, by  preventing  sin,  the  natural  source,  as  well  as  the 
meritorious  cause  of  every  misery :  threatenings  which  are 
not  executed,  but  as  the  only  expedient  left  in  a  desperate 
case,  when  all  other  means  have  been  used  in  vain,  and 
no  other  method  can  secure  the  public  good,  or  render  a 
worthless  criminal  a  vessel  of  wrath  fitted  for  destruction, 
and  fit  for  nothing  else ;  of  no  other  service  to  the  great 
community  of  rational  beings.  These  are  some  of  the 
ingredients  and  displays  of  the  holiness  of  God :  and  what 
are  these  but  so  many  exertions  of  pure  love  and  benevo- 
lence? It  is  because  he  loves  his  creatures  so  much  that 
he  requires  them  to  be  so  holy :  and  that  very  thing,  against 
which  there  are  so  many  cavils  and  objections,  as  too  severe 
and  oppressive,  and  a  rigid  restraint  from  the  pursuit  of 
pleasure,  is  the  highest  instance  of  the  love  of  God  for 
them,  and  his  regard  for  their  happiness. 

Let  me  therefore  commence  advocate  for  God  with  my 
fellow-men,  though  it  strikes  me  with  horror  to  think  there 


GOD    IS    LOVE.  471 

should  be  any  occasion  for  it.  Ye  children  of  the  most 
tender  Father,  ye  subjects  of  the  most  gracious  and  right- 
eous Sovereign,  ye  beneficiaries  of  divine  love,  why  do 
you  harbour  hard  thoughts  of  him  ?  Is  it  because  his  laws 
are  so  strict,  and  tolerate  you  in  no  guilty  pleasure  ?  This 
appointment  is  the  kind  restraint  of  love :  the  love  of  so 
good  a  being,  will  not  allow  him  to  dispense  with  your  ob- 
servance of  any  thing  that  may  contribute  to  your  im- 
provement and  advantage,  nor  indulge  you  in  any  thing 
that  is  in  its  own  nature  deadly  and  destructive,  no  more 
than  a  father  will  suffer  a  favourite  child  to  play  with  a 
viper,  or  a  good  government  permit  a  madman  to  run  at 
large  armed  with  weapons  to  destroy  himself  and  others. 
Do  you  think  hard  of  God  because  he  hates  all  moral  evil 
to  such  a  degree,  that  he  has  annexed  to  it  everlasting 
misery  of  the  most  exquisite  kind?  But  what  is  this  but 
an  expression  of  his  infinite  hatred  to  every  thing  that  is 
hurtful  to  his  creatures,  and  his  infinite  regard  to  whatever 
tends  to  their  benefit?  Or  has  he  been  too  rigid  in  exact- 
ing holiness  as  a  necessary  pre-requisite  to  the  happiness 
of  heaven  ?  You  may  as  well  complain  of  the  constitution 
of  nature,  that  renders  abstinence  from  poison  necessary 
to  the  preservation  of  health,  or  that  does  not  allow  you 
to  quench  your  thirst  in  a  fever  with  cold  water.  Let  me 
remind  you  once  more,  that  holiness  is  essential  to  the  hap- 
piness of  heaven,  and  that  without  it  you  labour  under  a 
moral  incapacity  of  enjoyment;  and  a  moral  incapacity 
will  as  inevitably  deprive  you  of  the  pleasures  of  enjoy- 
ment, as  if  it  were  natural.  While  unholy  you  can  no 
more  be  happy  even  in  the  region  of  happiness  than  a 
stone  can  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  animal  life,  or  a  me're  ani- 
mal those  of  reason.  "  But  why,"  you  will  perhaps  mur- 
mur and  object,  "  why  has  God  formed  such  a  heaven  as 
cannot  be  universally  enjoyed  ?  Why  has  he  not  provided 


472  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

a  happiness  for  every  taste  ?"  You  may  as  well  ask  why 
he  has  not  created  a  light  that  would  be  equally  agreeable  to 
every  eye ;  to  the  mole  and  the  owl,  as  well  as  to  man  and 
the  eagle?  Or  why  has  he  not  formed  light  with  all  the 
properties  of  darkness ;  that  is,  why  has  he  not  performed 
contradictions?  You  may  as  well  query,  why  has  he  not 
given  us  equal  capacities  of  enjoyments  in  sickness  and  in 
health,  and  furnished  us  with  equal  pleasures  in  both?  I 
tell  you  that,  in  the  nature  of  things,  the  low  and  impure 
pleasures  which  would  suit  the  depraved  taste  of  the  wicked, 
would  be  nauseous  and  painful  to  pure  minds  refined  and 
sanctified ;  and  they  cannot  mingle,  they  cannot  approach 
each  other  without  being  destroyed.  The  element  of 
water  may  as  well  be  converted  into  a  fit  residence  for  the 
inhabitants  of  dry  land,  and  yet  retain  all  its  properties  that 
are  suitable  to  its  present  natives ;  or  the  solid  earth  be- 
come a  fit  receptacle  for  fishes,  and  yet  both  it  and  the 
fishes  retain  their  usual  qualities.  In  short,  men,  beasts, 
birds,  fishes,  insects,  angels,  devils,  the  inhabitants  of  every 
zone  and  climate,  of  every  planet,  or  any  other  region  of 
the  universe,  may  as  well  form  one  society  in  one  and  the 
same  place,  and  mingle  their  respective  food  and  pleasures, 
as  a  heaven  of  happiness  be  prepared  that  would  suit  every 
taste.  God  has  prepared  the  only  kind  of  heaven  that  is 
in  its  own  nature  possible ;  the  only  one  that  would  be  an 
expression  of  love,  or  afford  real  and  extensive  happiness 
to  such  of  his  creatures  as  are  capable  of  it.  The  heaven 
of  sinners  would  be  a  nuisance  to  all  other  beings  in  the 
universe ;  a  private  good  only  to  malefactors,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  public ;  an  open  reward  of  wickedness,  and 
a  public  discountenancing  of  all  moral  goodness.  This 
would  be  the  case  upon  the  supposition  that  the  heaven  of 
sinners  were  possible.  But  the  supposition  is  infinitely 
absurd ;  it  is  as  impossible  as  the  pleasures  of  sickness,  the 


GOD    IS    LOVE.  473 

sensibility  of  a  stone,  or  the  meridian  splendours  of  mid- 
night. 

Therefore  acknowledge,  admire,  and  love  the  beauty  of 
the  Lord,  his  holiness.  Give  thanks,  says  the  Psalmist, 
at  the  remembrance  of  his  holiness,  Ps.  xcvii.  12,  of  his 
holiness,  as  well  as  of  his  goodness  and  love ;  for  it  is  the 
brightest  modification  of  his  love  and  goodness.  An  un- 
holy being,  in  the  character  of  supreme  magistrate  of  the 
universe,  cannot  all  be  love,  or  communicate  nothing  but 
what  is  pleasing  to  all;  nay,  as  far  as  he  is  unholy  he 
must  have  a  malignant  disposition  towards  the  public  hap- 
piness, and  be  essentially  deficient  in  benevolence. 

V.  What  is  the  justice,  even  the  punitive  justice  of  God, 
but  a  modification  of  love  and  goodness ! 

As  there  is  no  divine  perfection  which  appears  so  terri- 
ble to  offenders  as  this,  which  therefore  they  toil  and  sweat 
to  disprove  or  explain  away,  I  shall  dwell  the  longer  upon 
it.  And  I  hope  to  convince  you  that  justice  is  not  that 
grim,  stern,  tremendous  attribute  which  is  delineated  by 
the  guilty,  partial  imagination  of  sinners,  who  have  made 
it  their  interest  that  there  should  be  no  such  attribute  to 
Deity,  but  that  it  is  infinitely  amiable  and  lovely,  as  well 
as  awful  and  majestic ;  nay,  that  it  is  love  and  benevolence 
itself. 

By  the  punitive  justice  of  God,  I  mean  that  perfection 
of  his  nature  which  executes  the  sentence  of  his  law  upon 
offenders,  or  inflicts  upon  them  the  punishment  he  had  threat- 
ened to  disobedience,  exactly  according  to  his  own  denun- 
ciation. The  present  world,  which  is  a  state  of  trial  and 
discipline,  and  not  of  final  rewards  and  punishments,  is  not 
the  proper  theatre  of  vindictive  justice,  but  of  a  promis- 
cuous providence  :  All  things  come  alike  to  all,  and  no  man 
can  know  the  love  or  hatred  of  the  Ruler  of  the  world  to- 
him,  by  all  that  is  before  him.  Eccles.  ix.  1,  2.  Yet,  some- 

YOL.  I.— 60 


474  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

times,  even  in  this  life,  justice  arrests  the  guilty,  and  dis- 
plays its  illustrious  terrors  upon  them,  especially  upon 
guilty  nations  that  have  no  existence  in  a  national  capacity 
in  the  eternal  world,  and  therefore  can  be  punished  in  that 
capacity  in  this  only.  It  was  vindictive  justice  that  deluged 
the  whole  world  in  a  flood  of  vengeance ;  that  kindled  the 
flames  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah ;  and  that  cut  oif  the  na- 
tions of  Canaan  when  they  had  filled  up  the  measure  of 
their  iniquities.  It  is  justice  that  arms  kingdoms  from  age 
to  age,  and  makes  them  the  executioners  of  divine  wrath 
upon  one  another,  while  they  are  gratifying  their  own  am- 
bition, avarice,  or  revenge.  The  devastations  of  earth- 
quakes, inundations,  plagues,  epidemical  sicknesses,  famines, 
and  the  various  calamities  in  which  mankind  have  been  in- 
volved, are  so  many  displays  of  divine  justice;  and  their 
being  brought  on  the  world  according  to  the  course  of  na- 
ture, and  by  means  of  secondary  causes,  will  by  no  means 
prove  that  they  are  not  so,  but  only  that  the  very  make 
and  constitution  of  this  world  are  so  planned  and  formed 
by  divine  wisdom  as  to  admit  of  the  execution  of  justice 
at  proper  periods,  and  that  all  its  parts  are  the  instruments 
of  justice  to  accomplish  its  designs.  But  these  and  all 
the  other  judgments  of  heaven  upon  our  world  are  only 
preludes  and  specimens  of  the  most  perfect  administration 
of  it  in  a  future  state.  There  the  penalty  of  the  law  will 
be  executed  upon  impenitent  offenders  with  the  utmost  im- 
partiality. And  Revelation  assures  us  that  the  punishment 
will  be  endless  in  duration,  and  of  as  exquisite  a  kind  and 
high  degree  as  the  utmost  capacity  of  the  subject  will  ad- 
mit; and  consequently  that  it  will  not,  like  fatherly  chas- 
tisements, have  any  tendency  to  their  reformation  or  advan- 
tage, but  to  their  entire  and  everlasting  destruction.  Now 
it  is  this  display  of  punitive  justice  that  appears  so  terrible 
and  cruel  to  the  guilty  children  of  men ;  and  therefore  this 


GOD    IS    LOVE.  475 

is  what  I  shall  principally  endeavour  to  vindidate  and  to 
clothe  with  all  the  gentle  and  amiable  glories  of  love  and 
public  benevolence. 

For  this  end  I  beg  you  would  consider,  that  whatever 
has  a  tendency  to  prevent  sin  tends  to  prevent  misery 
also,  and  to  promote  the  happiness  of  the  world  and  of  all 
the  individuals  in  it;  that  good  laws  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  the  prevention  of  sin;  that  penal  sanctions  are 
essential  to  good  laws;  and  that  the  execution  of  the  penal 
sanctions  upon  offenders  is  absolutely  necessary  to  their 
efficacy  and  good  tendency;  and  consequently  the  execu- 
tion of  them  is  a  display  of  love  and  benevolence. 

Consider  also,  that  many  are  excited  to  seek  everlasting 
happiness,  and  deterred  from  the  ways  that  lead  down  to 
destruction,  by  means  of  the  threatenings  of  the  law :  that 
even  those  on  whom  they  are  finally  executed  were  once 
in  a  capacity  of  receiving  immortal  advantage  from  them, 
but  defeated  their  good  influence  and  tendency  by  their 
own  wilful  obstinacy :  and  that  the  righteous  execution  of 
these  threatenings  upon  the  incorrigible,  may  promote  the 
common  good  of  the  universe. 

Consider  farther,  that  criminals  are  incompetent  judges 
of  vindictive  justice,  because  they  are  parties ;  and  there- 
fore we  should  not  form  an  estimate  of  it  by  their  pre- 
judices, but  from  the  judgment  of  the  disinterested  and 
impartial  part  of  the  creation. 

Finally  consider,  that  proceedings  similar  to  those  of  the 
divine  government,  are  not  only  approved  of  as  just  in  all 
human  governments,  but  also  loved  and  admired  as  amiable 
and  praiseworthy,  and  essential  to  the  goodness  and  be- 
nevolence of  a  ruler. 

Let  us  briefly  illustrate  these  several  classes  of  proposi- 
tions. 

I.  "  Whatever  has  a  tendency  to  prevent  sin,  tends  to 


476  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

prevent  misery  also,  and  to  promote  the  happiness  of  the 
universe  and  of  all  the  individuals  in  it:  good  laws  are 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  prevention  of  sin :  penal 
sanctions  are  essential  to  good  laws;  and  the  season- 
able execution  of  those  sanctions  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  their  efficacy  and  good  tendency;  and  consequently 
the  execution  of  them  is  a  display  of  love  and  benevo- 
lence." 

"  Whatever  has  a  tendency  to  prevent  sin,  tends  to  pre- 
vent misery  also,"  and  that  for  this  reason,  because  sin  is 
necessarily  productive  of  misery,  and  destructive  of  happi- 
ness. Can  a  rational  creature  be  happy  that  is  disaffected 
to  the  Supreme  Good,  the  only  source  of  that  kind  of  hap- 
piness which  is  adapted  to  a  rational  nature  ?  This  is  as 
impossible  as  that  you  should  enjoy  animal  pleasures  while 
you  abhor  all  animal  enjoyments.  Can  a  social  creature 
be  happy  in  eternal  solitude,  or  in  a  state  of  society,  while 
ill-affected  towards  the  other  members  of  society,  or  while 
they  are  ill-affected  towards  him  and  he  to  them,  hateful, 
and  hating  one  another  ?  Can  a  creature,  formed  capable 
of  felicity  superior  to  what  any  good  can  communicate, 
be  happy  in  the  eager  pursuit  of  bubbles;  that  is,  of 
its  highest  happiness  in  inferior  enjoyments?  All  those 
dispositions  of  heart,  and  the  practices  resulting  from 
them,  in  which  sin  consists,  enmity  to  God,  uneasy  mur- 
murings  and  insurrections  against  his  perfections,  and  the 
government  of  his  law  and  providence;  a  churlish,  malig- 
nant, envious  temper  towards  mankind;  an  anxious,  exces- 
sive eagerness  of  desire  after  vain,  unsatisfactory  enjoy- 
ments; a  disrelish  for  the  exalted  pleasures  of  holiness  and 
benevolence;  what  are  these  and  the  like  dispositions,  but 
so  many  ingredients  of  misery,  and  so  many  abatements 
of  happiness?  and  consequently  all  measures  that  are 
taken  for  the  prevention  of  sin  are  so  many  benevolent  ex- 


GOD    IS    LOVE.  477 

pedients  for  the  prevention  of  misery  and  the  increase  of 
happiness. 

I  add,  "  good  laws  are  absolutely  necessary  for  the  pre- 
vention of  sin."  Indeed  those  dispositions  and  actions 
which  are  sinful  and  forbidden  by  the  divine  law  would  be 
of  a  deadly  nature  to  the  soul,  even  if  they  were  not  for- 
bidden, as  a  stab  to  the  heart  would  prove  mortal  to  the 
body,  although  there  were  no  laws  against  it,  and  for  that 
very  reason  laws  have  been  made  against  it.  Therefore 
the  laws  of  God  do  not  properly  constitute  the  destructive 
nature  of  sin,  but  only  point  out  and  warn  us  against  what 
is  destructive  in  its  own  nature  previous  to  all  explicit 
law.  And  is  it  not  absolutely  necessary,  and  an  act  of  the 
highest  benevolence,  that  the  supreme  Lawgiver  should 
warn  us  against  this  pernicious  evil,  and  plainly  inform  us 
what  it  is?  This  is  the  design  of  his  laws  both  natural 
and  revealed.  And  without  them,  what  sure  instructor, 
what  unerring  guide,  or  what  strong  inducements  to  a 
proper  conduct  could  we  have  in  this  most  important  case? 
Is  it  not  necessary,  is  it  not  kind,  that  the  supreme  Legis- 
lator should  interpose  his  authority,  and  lay  us  under  the 
strongest  obligations  to  avoid  our  own  ruin  ?  And  if  good 
laws  are  necessary,  so  are  penal  sanctions;  for  "penal 
sanctions  are  essential  to  good  laws."  Laws  without 
penalties  would  be  only  the  advices  of  an  equal  or  an  in- 
ferior, and  not  the  obligatory  commands  of  authority. 
They  might  be  observed  or  not,  according  to  pleasure, 
and  consequently  would  answer  no  valuable  purpose. 
They  would  also  be  infinitely  absurd  in  their  own  nature; 
for  if  what  the  law  enjoins  be  reasonable,  necessary,  and 
of  good  tendency,  is  it  not  necessary  and  fit  that  they  who 
do  not  observe  it  should  feel  the  bad  effects  of  their  omis- 
sion ?  And  what  is  this  but  a  penalty?  But  on  a  point 
so  plain  I  need  not  multiply  words;  I  appeal  to  the  com- 


478  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

mon  sense  of  mankind,  I  appeal  to  the  universal  practice 
of  all  governments.  Have  there  ever  been,  or  can  there 
possibly  be  any  laws  without  penal  sanctions?  Would 
not  such  laws  be  exposed  to  perpetual  insult  and  contempt, 
and  be  destitute  of  all  force  and  energy?  The  common 
sense  and  universal  practice  of  all  the  world,  in  all  ages, 
remonstrate  against  such  an  absurdity.  But  if  penal  sanc- 
tions are  essential  to  good  laws,  then  so  is  their  execution ; 
for— 

"  The  seasonable  execution  of  penal  sanctions  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  their  efficacy  and  good  tendency." 
Penalties  denounced  can  have  no  efficacy  upon  the  subject 
of  the  law;  that  is,  they  cannot  excite  fear,  and  by  that 
means  deter  them  from  disobedience,  unless  they  are  be- 
lieved, and  their  execution  expected.  But  they  would 
soon  cease  to  be  believed,  and  their  execution  would  no 
longer  be  expected,  if  in  several  instances  they  should  be 
dispensed  with,  and  a  succession  of  sinners  should  pass 
with  impunity.  Other  sinners,  judging  of  future  events 
by  past  facts,  would  expect  the  same  indulgence,  and 
therefore  venture  upon  disobedience  without  any  restraint 
from  the  penalty  of  the  law.  Here  again  I  shall  bring 
the  matter  to  a  quick  decision,  by  appealing  to  the  com- 
mon reason  and  universal  practice  of  mankind.  Would 
human  laws  have  any  force  if  the  penalty  was  hung  up  as 
an  empty  terror,  and  never  executed  ?  Would  not  such 
laws  be  liable  to  perpetul  violation  and  insult,  and  become 
the  sport  of  daring  offenders  ?  Would  not  the  escapes  of 
former  offenders  encourage  all  future  generations  to  give 
themselves  a-loose,  in  hopes  of  the  same  exemption  ?  Is 
it  not  necessary  in  all  government  that  public  justice  should 
make  examples  of  some,  to  warn  and  deter  others  ?  Have 
not  all  nations,  especially  the  more  civilized,  made  such 
examples?  And  have  not  all  the  impartial  world  com- 


GOD    IS    LOVE.  479 

mended  their  proceeding  as  necessary  to  the  safety  and 
happiness  of  society,  and  expressive  of  their  regard  to  the 
public  good? 

View  all  these  things  together,  and  methinks  I  may  bid 
defiance  to  common  sense  to  draw  any  other  conclusion 
than  that  the  justice  of  God,  in  executing  the  penalties  of 
his  law  upon  impenitent  offenders,  is  the  heighth  of  good- 
ness and  love.  If  love  requires  that  all  proper  expedients 
be  used  for  the  prevention  of  sin ;  if  good  laws  are  neces- 
sary for  this  end ;  if  penalties  are  essential  to  good  laws ; 
and  if  the  seasonable  execution  of  penalties  be  absolutely 
necessary  to  give  them  their  benevolent  force  and  good 
tendency,  does  it  not  unavoidably  follow,  that  love  itself 
requires  both  the  enacting  of  penal  sanctions  to  the  law  of 
God,  and  the  execution  of  them  upon  proper  subjects? 
Without  this  wholesome  severity,  the  divine  laws  would 
be  less  secure  from  contempt,  and  the  divine  government 
would  be  less  favourable  to  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the 
subjects  than  the  laws  and  governments  of  mortals  in  all 
civilized  nations. 

"  But  why  does  the  penalty  rise  so  high  ?  Why  is  the 
execution  lengthened  out  through  everlasting  ages  1  Why 
might  not  a  gentler  punishment  suffice?"  This  is  the 
grand  objection ;  and  in  such  language  as  this  the  enmity 
of  the  rebellious  heart  against  the  justice  of  God  gene- 
rally expresses  itself.  But  if  the  original  design  and 
natural  tendency  of  the  threatened  penalty  be  to  prevent 
sin,  then  by  how  much  severer  the  penalty,  by  so  much 
the  more  effectual  tendency  has  it  to  answer  this  kind 
design.  No  punishment  can  rise  higher  than  those  which 
a  righteous  God  has  annexed  to  disobedience  the  natural 
source  of  every  misery;  and  what  is  this  but  to  say  that  no 
methods  more  effectual  can  be  taken  to  prevent  it  than 
what  he  has  actually  taken  ?  We  may  therefore  infer  the 


480  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

ardor  of  the  love  of  God  from  the  terror  of  his  threaten- 
ings.  He  has  denounced  the  greatest  misery  against  sin, 
in  order  to  restrain  his  creatures  from  running  into  that 
very  misery ;  and  threatens  the  loss  of  heaven,  in  order  to 
prevent  his  creatures  from  losing  it. 

I  must  also  here  repeat  the  common  argument,  which 
appears  to  me  as  valid  as  common ;  "  that  as  the  essence 
of  sin  consists  in  the  breach  of  an  obligation,  the  evil  of 
sin  must  be  exactly  proportioned  to  the  strength  of  the 
obligation;"  that  as  we  are  undoubtedly  under  infinite 
obligations  to  a  God  of  infinite  excellency,  our  Maker, 
Ruler,  and  Benefactor,  the  evil  of  sin,  which  violates  those 
obligations,  must  be  infinite  also ;  and  that  no  punishment 
short  of  what  is  infinite  can  be  adequate  to  the  demerit  of 
an  infinite  evil,  and  consequently  sinners  ought  to  suffer  a 
finite  punishment  through  an  infinite  duration,  because  that 
is  the  only  way  in  which  they  are  able  to  bear  an  infinite 
punishment.  But  on  this  common  topic  a  few  hints  may 
suffice. 

I  proceed  to  the  next  set  of  propositions. 

II.  "  That  many  are  excited  to  the  pursuit  of  everlast- 
ing happiness,  and  deterred  from  the  ways  of  destruction, 
by  means  of  threatenings  of  the  divine  law;  that  even 
those  unhappy  creatures  on  whom  they  are  finally  exe- 
cuted were  once  in  a  capacity  of  receiving  immortal 
advantage  from  them,  but  defeated  their  good  influence 
and  tendency  by  their  own  wilful  obstinacy :  and  that 
the  righteous  execution  of  these  threatenings  upon  the  incor- 
rigible may  promote  the  common  good  of  the  universe." 

"  Many  are  excited  to  the  pursuit  of  everlasting  happi- 
ness, and  deterred  from  the  ways  of  destruction,  by  means 
of  the.  threatenings  of  the  divine  law."  I  appeal  to  expe- 
rience and  observation,  whether  the  terrors  of  the  Lord 
are  not  the  very  first  thing  that  gives  a  check  to  sinners  in 


GOD    IS    LOVE.  481 

their  headlong  career  to  ruin  ?  It  is  the  law  that  worketh 
wrath,  Rom.  iv.  15 ;  that  is,  an  alarming  apprehension  of 
the  wrath  of  God  against  sin ;  and  constrains  them  to  use 
the  instituted  means  of  deliverance.  Thus  even  the  ter- 
rors of  the  law  are  made  subservient  to  divine  love,  in 
"  turning  sinners  from  the  error  of  their  way,  and  saving 
souls  from  death."  And  could  we  consult  the  glorious 
assembly  of  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  they 
would  all  own  that  if  their  heavenly  Father  had  not  threat- 
ened them  so  severely,  they  would  always  have  continued 
undutiful,  and  consequently  rendered  themselves  miserable ; 
and  that  they  were  saved  from  hell  by  being  honestly 
warned  of  the  danger  of  falling  into  it.  It  is  true  there 
are  multitudes  who  do  not  receive  this  advantage  by  the 
penal  sanctions  of  the  divine  law,  but  are  made  miserable 
for  ever  by  the  execution  of  them ;  yet  it  may  be  added, 

"  That  even  those  unhappy  creatures  on  whom  they  are 
executed,  were  once  in  a  capacity  of  receiving  infinite  ad- 
vantage from  them,  but  defeated  their  good  influence  and 
tendency  in  their  own  wilful  obstinacy."  The  threaten- 
ings  of  the  divine  law  had  the  same  good  tendency  in  their 
own  nature  with  respect  to  them,  to  deter  them  from  dis- 
obedience, and  urge  their  pursuit  of  happiness,  as  with 
respect  to  others;  and  these  were  some  of  the  means  of 
God  appointed  for  their  salvation.  But  they  hardened 
themselves  against  them  and  thus  defeated  their  good  ten- 
dency, and  obstinately  ruined  themselves  in  defiance  of 
warning :  they  even  forced  a  passage  into  the  infernal  pit 
through  the  strongest  enclosures.  But  if  they  had  not 
been  thus  warned,  they  not  only  would  not  have  been 
saved  in  the  event,  but  they  would  not  have  enjoyed  the 
means  of  salvation.  Now  their  enjoying  these  means  was 
in  itself  an  inexpressible  blessing,  though  in  the  issue  it 
only  aggravates  their  misery ;  and  consequently  the  enact- 

.  I.— 61 


482  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

ing  those  penalties  to  the  divine  law  was  really  an  act  of 
kindness  even  to  them ;  and  their  abuse  of  the  blessing 
does  not  alter  its  nature.  The  primary  and  direct  end  of 
a  penalty  is  not  the  punishment  of  the  subjects,  but  to 
restrain  them  from  things  injurious  to  themselves,  and 
others,  and  urge  them  to  pursue  their  own  interest.  But 
when  this  good  end  is  not  answered,  by  reason  of  their 
wilful  folly  and  disobedience,  then,  and  not  till  then,  the 
execution  is  necessary  for  the  good  of  others,*  which  leads 
me  to  add, 

"  That  the  righteous  execution  of  the  threatened  penalty 
upon  the  incorrigible  may  promote  the  common  good  of 
the  universe."  This  world  of  ours  is  a  public  theatre, 
surrounded  with  numerous  spectators,  who  are  interested 
in  its  affairs.  Angels,  in  particular,  are  witnesses  of  the 
proceedings  of  Providence  towards  mankind  and  thence 
learn  the  perfections  of  God,  and  the  maxims  of  his 
government.  Hell  is  also  a  region  dreadfully  conspicuous 
to  them ;  and  there,  no  doubt,  the  offended  Judge  intends 
to  show  his  wrath,  and  make  his  power  known  to  them  as 
well  as  to  mankind.  Now  they  are  held  in  obedience  by 
rational  motives,  and  not  by  any  mechanical  compulsion. 
And  among  other  motives  of  a  gentler  kind,  no  doubt  this 
is  one  of  no  small  weight;  namely,  their  observing  the 
destructive  consequences  of  sin  upon  men  and  angels,  and 

*  Penalties,  operate,  like  final  causes,  by  a  kind  "f  retrospective  influence  ; 
that  is,  whilst  they  are  only  threatened,  and  the  subject  expects  they  will  be 
executed,  should  he  turn  disobedient,  they  have  a  powerful  tendency  to  de- 
ter him  from  disobedience.  But  they  could  not  have  this  benevolent  ten- 
dency, unless  they  be  executed  upon  those,  on  whom  their  primary  and 
chief  design  is  not  obtained  :  namely,  the  restraining  of  them  from  sin.  It 
is  enough  that  the  offenders  themselves  once  had  an  opportunity  of  taking 
warning,  and  reaping  the  advantage  of  the  threatened  penalty,  while  they 
were  in  a  state  of  trial,  and  candidates  for  eternity.  But  it  is  absurd 
that  they  should  receive  any  benefit  from  it.  when,  after  sufficient  trial,  it 
appears  they  will  take  no  warning,  but  are  resolved  to  persist  in  sin,  in  de- 
fiance of  the  most  tremendous  penalties. 


GOD    IS    LOVE.  483 

the  terrible  displeasure  of  God  against  it.  It  is  not  at  all 
inconsistent  with  their  dignity  and  purity  to  suppose  them 
swayed  by  this  motive  in  a  proper  connection  with  others 
of  a  more  disinterested  and  generous  nature.  Therefore 
the  confirmation  of  the  elect  angels  in  holiness,  and  their 
everlasting  happiness  is  no  doubt  not  a  little  secured  and 
promoted  by  the  execution  of  righteous  punishment  upon 
some  notorious  hardened  malefactors,  both  of  their  own 
order  and  of  the  human  race. 

The  same  thing  may  be  said  of  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect ;  they  are  happily  incapable  of  sinning,  and 
consequently  of  becoming  miserable  ;  but  their  incapacity 
arises  from  the  clear  conviction  of  their  understanding, 
which  has  the  conduct  of  their  will ;  and,  while  sin  appears 
to  them  so  deadly  and  destructive  an  evil,  it  is  impossible, 
according  to  the  make  of  a  rational  nature,  that  they  should 
choose  it.  But  the  consequences  of  sin  upon  the  wretched 
creatures  on  whom  the  penalty  denounced  against  it  is 
executed,  is  no  doubt  one  thing  that  affords  them  this  con- 
viction; and  so  it  contributes  to  their  perseverance  in  obe- 
dience and  happiness.  Thus  the  joys  of  heaven  are 
secured  by  the  pains  of  hell,  and  even  the  most  noxious 
criminals,  the  enemies  of  God  and  his  creatures,  are  not 
useless  in  the  universe,  but  answer  the  terrible  but  benevo- 
lent end  of  warning  all  other  creatures  against  disobedience ; 
which  would  involve  them  in  the  same  misery,  just  as  the 
execution  of  a  few  malefactors  in  human  governments  is  of 
extensive  service  to  the  rest  of  the  subjects. 

But  as  the  greater  part  of  mankind  perish,  it  may  be 
queried,  "  How  is  it  consistent  with  love  and  goodness, 
that  the  majority  should  be  punished  and  made  monu- 
ments of  justice,  for  the  benefit  of  the  smaller  number  ?" 
To  this  I  reply,  that  though  it  be  equally  evident  from 
Scripture  and  observation,  that  the  greater  part  of  man- 


484  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

kind  go  down  to  destruction  in  the  smooth,  broad  descend- 
ing road  of  sin,  in  the  ordinary  ages  of  the  world ;  and 
though  revelation  assures  us  that  the  number  of  the  apos- 
tate angels  is  very  great,  yet  I  think  we  have  no  reason  to 
conclude  that  the  greater  part  of  the  rational  creation 
shall  be  miserable;  nay,  it  is  possible  the  number  of  those 
on  whom  the  penalty  of  the  divine  law  is  inflicted,  may 
bear  no  more  proportion  to  that  of  the  innumerable  ranks 
of  creatures  that  may  be  retained  in  obedience  and  happi- 
ness by  means  of  their  conspicuous  and  exemplary  pun- 
ishment, than  the  number  of  criminals  executed  in  our 
government,  for  the  warning  of  others,  bears  to  the  rest 
of  the  subjects.  If  we  consider  that  those  who  have  been 
redeemed  from  the  earth,  even  in  the  ordinary  ages  of  the 
world,  though  comparatively  but  few,  yet  absolutely  are  a 
"  multitude  which  no  man  can  number,  of  all  nations,  and 
kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues,  Rev.  vii.  9,  and  that 
the  elect  angels  are  an  innumerable  company*  Heb.  xii. 
22,  perhaps  much  greater  than  the  legions  of  hell ;  if  to 
those  we  add  the  prodigious  numbers  that  shall  be  con- 
verted in  that  long  and  blessed  season  when  Satan  shall  be 
bound,  when  the  prince  of  peace  shall  reign,  and  when 
"the  kingdom  and  dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  the 
kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the 
people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,"  Dan.  vii.  27,  in 
which  not  only  the  greater  number  of  the  generations  that 
shall  live  in  that  glorious  millennium  shall  be  saved,  but 
perhaps  a  greater  number  than  all  that  perished  in  former 
generations,  which  is  very  possible,  if  we  consider  the 
long  continuance  of  that  time,  and  that  the  world  will  then 

*  I  do  not  forget  that  the  original  is  myriads  of  angels.  But  the  word  is 
often,  I  think,  generally  used  in  the  Greek  classics,  not  for  any  definite 
number,  but  for  a  great  and  innumerable  multitude.  And  so  it  is  used 
here. 


GOD    IS    LOVE.  485 

be  under  the  peculiar  blessing  of  heaven,  and  consequently 
mankind  will  multiply  faster,  and  not  be  diminished  as 
they  now  are  by  the  calamities  of  war,  plagues,  epidemical 
sicknesses,  and  the  other  judgments  of  God  upon  those 
times  of  rebellion ;  if  we  also  borrow  a  little  light  from 
the  hypothesis  of  philosophy,  and  suppose  that  the  other 
planets  of  our  system  are  peopled  like  our  earth  with 
proper  inhabitants,  and  particularly  with  reasonable  crea- 
tures, (for  he  that  made  those  vast  bodies  made  them  not 
in  vain,  he  made  them  to  be  inhabited ;)  if  we  further  sup- 
pose that  each  of  the  innumerable  fixed  stars  is  a  sun,  the 
centre  of  habitable  worlds,  and  that  all  these  worlds,  like 
our  own,  swarm  with  life,  and  particularly  with  various 
classes  of  reasonable  beings,  (which  is  not  at  all  unlikely, 
if  we  argue  from  parity  of  cases,  from  things  well  known 
to  things  less  known,  or  from  the  immense  everflowing 
goodness,  wisdom  and  power  of  the  great  Creator,  who 
can  replenish  the  infinite  voids  of  space  with  being,  life, 
and  reason,  and  with  equal  ease  produce  and  support  ten 
thousand  worlds  as  ten  thousand  grains;)  if  we  suppose 
that  his  creative  perfections  will  not  lie  inactive  for  ever, 
contented  with  one  exertion  for  six  days  but  that  he  still  em- 
ploys and  will  employ  them  for  ever  in  causing  new  worlds, 
replenished  with  moral  agents,  to  start  into  existence  here 
and  there  in  the  endless  vacancies  of  space ;  and  finally, 
if  we  suppose  that  the  flames  of  hell  will  blaze  dreadfully 
bright  and  conspicuous  in  the  view  of  all  present  and 
future  creations ;  or  that  the  destructive  nature  of  sin  will 
be  some  way  or  another  made  known  to  the  rational  in- 
habitants of  all  worlds  by  the  punishment  inflicted  upon  a 
number  of  men  and  angels,  and  that  by  this  means  they 
are  effectually  deterred  from  sin,  and  preserved  from  the 
misery  inseparable  from  it;  I  say,  if  we  admit  these  sup- 
positions, some  of  which  are  undoubtedly  true,  and  the 


486  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

rest  I  think  not  improbable,  then  it  will  follow  that  the 
number  of  holy  and  happy  creatures  in  the  universe  will 
be  incomparably  greater  than  that  of  miserable  criminals, 
and  that  the  punishment  of  the  latter  is  one  principal  mean 
of  preserving  this  infinite  number  in  obedience  and  happi- 
ness ;  and  consequently  is  highly  conducive  to  the  public 
happiness,  and  expressive  of  the  love  and  goodness  of  the 
universal  Ruler  to  the  immense  community  of  his  subjects. 
And  thus  God  is  love,  even  in  the  most  terrible  displays 
of  his  vindictive  justice. 

To  illustrate  this  subject,  consider  farther : 
III.  "  That  criminals  are  incompetent  judges  of  vin- 
dictive justice."  They  are  parties,  and  it  is  their  interest 
there  should  be  no  such  attribute  as  justice  in  the  Deity. 
It  is  natural  for  them  to  flatter  themselves  that  their  crimes 
are  small ;  that  their  Judge  will  suffer  them  to  escape  with 
impunity,  or  with  a  gentle  punishment,  and  that  if  he 
should  do  otherwise,  he  would  be  unmerciful,  unjust,  and 
cruel.  The  excess  of  self-love  suggests  to  them  a  thou- 
sand excuses  and  extenuations  of  their  guilt,  and  flatters 
them  with  a  thousand  favourable  presumptions.  An  im- 
penitent criminal  is  always  an  ungenerous,  mean-spirited, 
selfish  creature,  and  has  nothing  of  that  noble,  disinterested 
self-denial  and  impartiality  which  would  generously  con- 
demn himself  and  approve  of  that  sentence  by  which  he 
dies.  A  little  acquaintance  with  the  conduct  of  mankind 
will  soon  make  us  sensible  of  their  partiality  and  wrong 
judgments  in  matters  where  self  is  concerned;  and  par- 
ticularly how  unfit  they  are  to  form  an  estimate  of  justice 
when  themselves  are  to  stand  as  criminals  at  its  bar.  Now 
this  is  the  case  of  all  mankind  in  the  affair  now  under 
consideration.  They  are  criminals  at  the  bar  of  divine 
justice ;  they  are  the  parties  to  be  tried ;  they  are  under 
the  dominion  of  a  selfish  spirit;  it  is  natural  to  them  to 


GOD    IS    LOVE.  487 

palliate  their  own  crimes,  and  to  form  flattering  expecta- 
tions from  the  clemency  of  their  Judge.  And  are  they 
tit  persons  to  prescribe  to  their  Judge  how  he  should  deal 
with  him,  or  what  measure  of  punishment  he  ought  to 
inflict  upon  them?  Sinners!  dare  you  usurp  this  high 
province !  Dare  you 

"  Snatch  from  his  hand  the  balance  and  the  rod, 
Kejudge  his  justice,  be  the  god  of  God  !"* 

Rather  stand  at  the  bar,  ye  criminals!  that  is  your  place. 
Do  not  dare  to  ascend  the  throne ;  that  is  the  place  of 
your  Judge.  Stand  silent,  and  await  his  righteous  sen- 
tence, which  is  always  just,  always  best;  or,  if  creatures 
must  judge  of  the  justice  of  their  Sovereign,  I  appeal  to 
the  saints;  I  appeal  to  angels,  those  competent  disinter- 
ested judges;  I  appeal  to  every  upright,  impartial  being 
in  the  universe.  They  approve,  they  celebrate,  they  ad- 
mire, and  love  all  the  displays  of  punitive  justice,  as  ne- 
cessary to  the  public  good ;  and  their  judgment  may  be 
depended  on;  it  is  not  misled  by  ignorance  nor  perverted 
by  self-interest.  To  whom  would  you  appeal  as  judges 
of  the  proceedings  of  courts  of  justice  among  men  ?  To 
malefactors  in  a  dungeon,  who  have  made  justice  their 
enemy,  and  who  are  therefore  enemies  to  it  ?  No ;  but 
you  would  appeal  to  obedient  subjects,  who  are  not  obnox- 
ious to  justice  themselves,  but  enjoy  protection  under  its 
guardianship,  and  are  sensible  of  its  beauty  and  public 
utility.  They  all  approve  it  with  one  voice,  and  would 
look  upon  a  supreme  Magistrate  without  it  as  a  very  con- 
temptible and  odious  character,  and  essentially  deficient  in 
goodness.  Hence  it  follows  that  even  the  punitive  justice 
of  God  not  only  is  in  reality,  but  to  all  impartial  judges 
appears  to  be  a  most  amiable,  engaging,  and  beneficent 

*  Pope's  Essay  on  Man. 


488  GOD    IS   LOVE. 

perfection ;  majestic  indeed,  but  not  forbidding ;  awful,  but 
not  sullen  and  hateful;  terrible,  but  only  to  criminals;  and 
destructive  only  to  what  destroys  the  public  good.  I  have 
so  far  anticipated  myself  that  I  need  hardly  add, 

IV.  "  That  proceedings  similar  to  those  of  the  divine 
government  are  not  only  approved  of  as  just  in  all  human 
governments,  but  also  loved  and  admired  as  amiable  and 
praise-worthy,  and  highly  essential  to  the  goodness  and 
benevolence  of  a  ruler." 

Does  the  supreme  Lawgiver  annex  severe  penalties  to 
his  laws,  which  render  the  disobedient  miserable  for  ever? 
So  do  human  governments,  with  the  unanimous  approba- 
tion of  their  subjects ;  they  inflict  punishments  that  affect 
life,  and  cut  off  the  offender  from  civil  society  forever; 
and  this  is  the  only  kind  of  everlasting  punishment  that  can 
be  endured  or  executed  by  mortals.  Does  Jehovah  main- 
tain good  order  in  his  immense  empire,  protect  his  sub- 
jects, and  deter  them  from  offending  by  making  examples 
of  the  guilty  ?  and  does  he  secure  and  advance  the  good 
of  the  whole  by  the  conspicuous  punishment  of  obnoxious 
individuals  ?  This  is  done  every  day  for  the  same  ends  in 
human  governments,  and  that  with  universal  approbation. 
Does  he  inflict  punishments  that  are  not  at  all  intended  for 
the  reformation  and  advantage  of  the  guilty  sufferer,  but 
only  for  the  admonition  and  benefit  of  others?  This  is 
always  the  case  in  human  governments  when  the  punish- 
ments reaches  to  the  life ;  for  then  the  offender  himself  is 
put  out  of  all  capacity  of  reformation  or  personal  advan- 
tage by  it,  but  he  suffers  entirely  for  the  good  of  others. 
Even  criminals  must  be  made  useful  to  society;  and  this 
is  the  only  use  they  are  fit  to  answer.  Would  it  not  be 
inexpedient  and  greatly  injurious  for  a  magistrate,  in  his 
public  character,  to  forgive  crimes  and  suffer  criminals  to 
escape,  though  to  do  so  in  a  private  character  might  be  a 


GOD  is  LOVE.  439 

virtue  ?     Just  so  God,  who  is  the  supreme  Magistrate  of 
the  universe,  and  not  at  all  to  be  considered,  in  this  case, 
as  a  private  person  acting  only  in  a  private  character ;  the 
great  God,  I  say,  is  obliged,  by  his  regard  for  his  own 
honour  and  the  benefit  of  his  subjects,  to  inflict  proper 
punishments  and  distribute  his  pardoning  mercy  to  indi- 
viduals consistently  with  the  general  good  of  the  whole. 
What  would  be  revenge  in  a  private  person,  which  is  the 
ruling  passion   of  devils,  is  justice,  honour,  and  benevo- 
lence itself  in  the  supreme   ruler  of  the  world;   and  a 
failure  in  this  would  render  him  not  only  less  glorious  and 
majestic,  but  less  amiable,  less  beneficent  to  his  creatures. 
I  know  hardly  any  thing  of  so  much  importance  to 
give  us  just  sentiments   of  the  proceedings  of  God,  with 
his  creatures,  as  that  we  should  conceive  of  him  as  a  moral 
Ruler,  or  the  supreme  Magistrate  of  the  world.     And  it 
is  owing  to  their  not  considering  him  in  this  character 
that  sinners  indulge  such  mistaken,  dangerous  presump- 
tions concerning  him.     They  choose  to  conceive  of  him 
under  some  fond  and  tender  name,  as  a  Being  of  infinite 
grace,  the  indulgent  Father  of  his  creatures,   &c.     All 
this  is  true ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  he  is  their  moral 
Ruler  as  well  as  their  Father.     His  creatures  are  his  sub- 
jects as  well  as  his  children :  and  he  must  act  the  wise 
and  righteous  Magistrate  as  well  as  the  tender  Father  to- 
wards them.     His  goodness  is  that  of  a  Ruler,  and  not  of 
a  private  person ;  and  his  pardoning  of  sin  and  receiving 
offenders  into  favour,  are  not  private  kindnesses,  but  acts 
of  government,  and  therefore  they  must  be  conducted  with 
the  utmost  wisdom ;  for  a  wrong  step  in  his  infinite  admin- 
istration, which  affects  such  innumerable  multitudes  of  sub- 
jects, would  be  an   infinite  evil,  and  might  admit  of  no 
reparation. 

Though  I  have  thus  enlarged  upon  this  subject,  yet  I 

VOL.  I.—  ti2 


490  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

am  far  from  exhausting  my  materials.  But  these  things,  I 
hope,  are  sufficient  to  convince  your  understandings  that 
divine  justice  is  not  that  unkind,  cruel,  and  savage  thing 
sinners  are  wont  to  imagine  it;  but  that  God  is  just,  be- 
cause God  is  love  ;  and  that  he  punishes,  not  because  he 
is  the  enemy,  but  because  he  is  the  friend  of  his  crea- 
tures, and  because  he  loves  the  whole  too  well  to  let  par- 
ticular offenders  do  mischief  with  impunity.* 

I  shall  only  add,  that  this  is  the  view  Jehovah  has  given 
of  himself  in  the  clearest  manifestation  of  his  perfections 
that  he  ever  made  to  mortals.  He  promises  his  favourite 
Moses,  that  he  would  make  all  his  goodness  pass  before 
him.  Observe,  it  is  his  goodness  he  intends  to  exhibit ; 
and  the  proclamation  runs  thus :  "  The  LORD,  the  LORD 
God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering,  forgiving  ini- 
quity," &c.  That  these  are  acts  or  modifications  of  good- 
ness, will  be  easily  granted.  But  observe,  it  is  added  even 
in  this  proclamation  of  his  goodness,  That  he  will  by  no 
means  clear  the  guilty;  intimating,  that  to  be  just  and 
punish  sin  is  an  act  of  goodness,  as  well  as  to  be  merciful 
and  to  forgive  it. 

And  now  when  we  have  this  copious  subject  in  review, 
does  it  not  suggest  to  us  such  conclusions  as  these : 

*  It  may  perhaps  be  objected,  "  That  to  represent  justice  under  the  notion 
of  love  is  to  affect  singularity  in  language,  to  destroy  the  distinction  of  the 
divine  attributes,  and  the  essential  difference  of  things." — To  which  I 
answer,  1.  That  a  catachresis  may  be  beautiful  and  emphatical,  though  it  be 
always  a  seeming  impropriety  in  language.  Such  is  this  representation, 
"Divine  justice,  divine  love."  2.  I  do  not  deny  that  God's  executing 
righteous  punishment  upon  the  guilty  may  be  called  justice ;  but  then  it  is 
his  love  to  the  public  that  excites  him  to  do  this;  and  therefore  his  doing  it 
may  be  properly  denominated  love,  as  well  as  justice,  or  love  under  the 
name  of  justice,  which  is  love  still.  3.  I  do  not  mean  that  the  usual  names 
of  things  should  be  changed,  but  that  we  should  affix  suitable  ideas  to  them. 
We  may  retain  the  name  of  justice  still,  but  let  us  not  affix  ideas  to  it  that 
are  inconsistent  with  divine  love.  Let  us  not  look  upon  it  as  the  attribute 
of  a  tyrant,  but  of  a  wise  and  good  ruler. 


GOD    IS    LOVE. 


I.  May  we  not  conclude  that  the  case  of  impenitent 
sinners  is  desperate  indeed,  when  it  is  not  excessive  rigour, 
not  a  malignity  of  temper,  nor  tyranny,  or  a  savage  delight 
in  torture  that  condemns  them,  but  goodness  itself,  love 
itself?     Even  the  gentler  perfections  of  the  Deity,  those 
from   which  they  derive  their  presumptuous  hopes,  are 
conspired  against  them,  and  unite  their  forces  to  render 
them  miserable,  in  order  to  prevent  greater  misery  from 
spreading  through  the  universe.     Impenitent  sinners !  even 
the  unbounded  love  of  God  to  his  creatures  is  your  enemy. 
Love,  under  the  name  and  form  of  justice,  which  is  equally 
love  still,  demands  your  execution ;  and  to  suffer  you  to 
escape  would  not  only  be  an  act  of  injustice,  but  an  act  of 
malignity  and  hostility  against  the  whole  system  of  rational 
beings.     Therefore  repent  and  be  holy,  otherwise  divine 
love  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  happy.     God  is  love  ;  there- 
fore will  he  confine  you  in  the  infernal  prison,  as  a  regard 
to  the  public  welfare  in  human  governments  shuts  up  crimi- 
nals in  a  dungeon,  and  madmen  in  Bedlam. 

II.  May  we  not  hence  conclude  that  all  the  acts  of  the 
Deity  may  be  resolved  into  the  benevolent  principle  of 
love  ?     God  is  love  ;  therefore  he  made  this  vast  universe, 
and  planted  it  so  thick  with  variegated  life.     God  is  love  ; 
therefore  he  still  rules  the  world  he  has  made,  and  in- 
flicts chastisements  and  judgments   upon    it   from  every 
age.     God  is  love  ;  therefore  he  spared  not  his  own  Son, 
but  made  him   the  victim  of  his  justice.     God  is  love ; 
therefore  he  requires  perfect  holiness,  perfect  obedience 
from  all  his  subjects.     God  is  love ;  therefore  he  has  en- 
acted such  tremendous  sanctions  to  his  law,  and  executes 
them  in  their  full  extent  upon  offenders.     God  is  love  ; 
therefore  he  has  made  the  prison  of  hell,  and  there  con- 
fines in   chains   of  everlasting  darkness  those  malevolent 
creatures,  that  would  be  a  nuisance  to  society,  and  public 


492  GOD    IS    LOVE. 

mischiefs,  if  suffered  to  run  at  large  In  short,  whatever 
he  does,  he  does  it  because  he  is  love.  How  amiable  a 
view  of  him  is  this  !  Therefore, 

III.  We  may  certainly  conclude  that  if  God  be  love, 
then  all  his  creatures  ought  to  love  him.  Love  him,  O 
all  ye  inhabitants  of  heaven  !  But  they  need  not  my  ex- 
hortation; they  know  him,  and  therefore  cannot  but  love 
him.  Love  him,  all  ye  inhabitants  of  the  planetary  worlds ! 
if  such  there  be.  These  also,  I  hope,  need  no  exhor- 
tation, for  we  would  willingly  persuade  ourselves  that  other 
territories  of  this  immense  empire  have  not  rebelled  against 
him  as  this  earth  has  done.  Love  him,  O  ye  children  of 
men  !  To  you  I  call:  but  oh !  I  fear  I  shall  call  in  vain. 
To  love  him  who  is  all  love  is  the  most  hopeless  proposal 
one  can  make  to  the  world.  But  whatever  others  do, 
love  the  Lord,  all  ye  his  saints !  You,  I  know,  cannot  re- 
sist the  motion.  Surely  your  love  even  now  is  all  on  fire. 
Love  the  Lord,  0  my  soul !  Amen. 


. 

THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION.  493 


SERMON  XIX. 

THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION. 

JOHN  v.  28,  29. — The  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all 
that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come 
forth  ;  they  that  have  done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of 
life  ;  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection 
of  damnation. 

EVER  since  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin, 
this  earth  has  been  a  vast  grave-yard,  or  burying-place,  for 
her  children.  In  every  age,  and  in  every  country,  that 
sentence  has  been  executing,  Dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust 
thou  shall  return.  The  earth  has  been  arched  with  graves, 
the  last  lodgings  of  mortals,  and  the  bottom  of  the  ocean 
paved  with  the  bones  of  men.*  Human  nature  was  at  first 
confined  to  one  pair,  but  how  soon  and  how  wide  did  it 
spread !  How  inconceivably  numerous  are  the  sons  of 
Adam  !  How  many  different  nations  on  our  globe  contain 
many  millions  of  men  even  in  one  generation !  And  how 
many  generations  have  succeeded  one  another  in  the  long 
run  of  near  six  thousand  years !  Let  imagination  call  up 
this  vast  army :  children  that  just  light  upon  our  globe,  and 
then  wing  their  flight  into  an  unknown  world ;  the  gray- 
headed  that  have  had  a  long  journey  through  life ;  the  bloom- 
ing youth  and  the  middle-aged,  let  them  pass  in  review  be- 
fore us  from  all  countries  and  from  all  ages ;  and  how  vast 

*  No  spot  on  earth  but  has  supplied  a  grave  ; 
And  human  sculls  the  spacious  ocean  pave. — YOUNQ. 


494  THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION. 

and  astonishing  the  multitude  !  If  the  posterity  of  one 
man  (Abraham)  by  one  son  was,  according  to  the  divine 
promise,  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  or  as  the  sand  by  the  sea- 
shore, innumerable,  what  numbers  can  compute  the  multi- 
tudes that  have  sprung  from  all  the  patriarchs,  the  sons 
of  Adam  and  Noah?  But  what  is  become  of  them  all? 
Alas !  they  are  turned  into  earth,  their  original  element ; 
they  are  all  imprisoned  in  the  grave,  except  the  present  gen- 
eration, and  we  are  dropping  one  after  another  in  quick 
succession  into  thai  place  appointed  for  all  living.  There 
has  not  been  perhaps  a  moment  of  time  for  five  thousand 
years,  but  what  some  one  or  other  has  sunk  into  the  man- 
sions of  the  dead ;  and  in  some  fatal  hours,  by  the  sword 
of  war  or  the  devouring  jaws  of  earthquakes,  thousands 
have  been  cut  off  and  swept  away  at  once,  and  left  in 
one  huge  promiscuous  carnage.  The  greatest  number  of 
mankind  beyond  comparison  are  sleeping  under  ground. 
There  lies  beauty  mouldering  into  dust,  rotting  into  stench 
and  loathsomeness,  and  feeding  the  vilest  worms.  There 
lies  the  head  that  once  wore  a  crown,  as  low  and  contemp- 
tible as  the  meanest  beggar.  There  lie  the  mighty  giants, 
the  heroes  and  conquerors,  the  Samsons,  the  Ajaxes,  the  Al- 
exanders, and  the  Caesars  of  the  world !  there  they  lie  stupid, 
senseless,  and  inactive,  and  unable  to  drive  off  the  worms 
that  riot  on  their  marrow,  and  make  their  houses  in  those 
sockets  where  the  eyes  sparkled  with  living  lustre.  There 
lie  the  wise  and  the  learned,  as  rotten,  as  helpless  as  the 
fool.  There  lie  some  that  we  once  conversed  with,  some 
that  were  our  friends,  our  companions ;  and  there  lie  our 
fathers  and  mothers,  our  brothers  and  sisters. 

And  shall  they  lie  there  always?  Shall  this  body,  this 
curious  workmanship  of  heaven,  so  wonderfully  and  fear- 
fully made,  always  lie  in  ruins,  and  never  be  repaired? 
Shall  the  wide-extended  valleys  of  dry  bones  never  more 


THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION.  495 

live?  This  we  know,  that  it  is  not  a  thing  impossible 
with  God  to  raise  the  dead.  He  that  could  first  form  our 
bodies  out  of  nothing,  is  certainly  able  to  form  them  anew, 
and  repair  the  wastes  of  time  and  death.  But  what  is  his 
declared  will  in  this  case  1  On  this  the  matter  turns ;  and 
this  is  fully  revealed  in  my  text.  "  The  hour  is  coming, 
when  all  that  are  in  the  graves,"  all  that  are  dead,  without 
exception,  "  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and 
shall  come  forth." 

And  for  what  end  shall  they  come  forth  ?  Oh !  for 
very  different  purposes;  "some  to  the  resurrection  of 
life ;  and  some  to  the  resurrection  of  damnation." 

And  what  is  the  ground  of  this  vast  distinction?  Or 
what  is  the  difference  in  character  between  those  that  shall 
receive  so  different  a  doom  ?  It  is  this,  "  They  that  have 
done  good  shall  rise  to  life,  and  they  that  have  done  evil 
to  damnation."  It  is  this,  and  this  only,  that  will  then  be 
the  rule  of  distinction. 

I  would  avoid  all  art  in  my  method  of  handling  this  sub- 
ject, and  intend  only  to  illustrate  the  several  parts  of  the 
text.  "  All  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and 
shall  come  forth ;  they  that  have  done  well,  to  the  resur- 
rection of  life ;  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  to  the  resur- 
rection of  damnation." 

I.  They  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice. 
The  voice  of  the  Son  of  God  here  probably  means  the 
sound  of  the  archangel's  trumpet,  which  is  called  his  voice, 
because  sounded  by  his  orders  and  attended  with  his  all- 
quickening  power.  This  all-wakening  call  to  the  tenents 
of  the  grave  we  frequently  find  foretold  in  Scripture.  I 
shall  refer  you  to  two  plain  passages.  Behold,  says  St. 
Paul,  /  show  you  a  mystery,  an  important  and  astonishing 
secret,  we  shall  not  all  sleep  ;  that  is  mankind  will  not  all 
be  sleeping  in  death  when  that  day  comes ;  there  will  be  a 


496  THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION. 

generation  then  alive  upon  the  earth;  and  though  they 
cannot  have  a  proper  resurrection,  yet  they  shall  pass 
through  a  change  equivalent  to  it.  "  We  shall  all  be 
changed,"  says  he,  "  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye,  at  the  last  trump :  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,"  it 
shall  give  the  alarm ;  and  no  sooner  is  the  awful  clangor 
heard  than  all  the  living  shall  be  transformed  into  immor- 
tals ;  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible ;  and  we, 
who  are  then  alive,  shall  be  changed,  1  Cor.  xv.  51,  52; 
this  is  all  the  difference,  they  shall  be  raised,  and  we  shall 
be  changed.  This  awful  prelude  of  the  trumpet  is  also 
mentioned  in  1  Thess.  iv.  15,  16.  "  We  which  are  alive 
and  remain  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord  shall  not  prevent 
them  which  are  asleep;"  that  is,  we  shall  not  be  before- 
hand with  them  in  meeting  our  descending  Lord,  "  for  the 
Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with 
the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God ;" 
that  is,  with  a  godlike  trump,  such  as  it  becomes  his  ma- 
jesty to  sound,  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first  : 
that  is,  before  the  living  shall  be  caught  up  in  the  clouds 
to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air :  and  when  they  are  risen,  and 
the  living  transformed,  they  shall  ascend  together  to  the 
place  of  judgment. 

My  brethren,  realize  the  majesty  and  terror  of  this  uni- 
versal alarm.  When  the  dead  are  sleeping  in  the  silent 
grave;  when  the  living  are  thoughtless  and  unapprehen- 
sive of  the  grand  event,  or  intent  on  other  pursuits ;  some 
of  them  asleep  in  the  dead  of  night;  some  of  them  dis- 
solved in  sensual  pleasures,  eating  and  drinking,  marrying 
and  giving  in  marriage ;  some  of  them  planning  or  execut- 
ing schemes  for  riches  or  honours ;  some  in  the  very  act 
of  sin ;  the  generality  stupid  and  careless  about  the  con- 
cerns of  eternity,  and  the  dreadful  day  just  at  hand ;  and  a 
few  here  and  there  conversing  with  their  God,  and  "  look- 


THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION.  497 

ing  for  the  glorious  appearance  of  their  Lord  and  Sa- 
viour;" when  the  course  of  nature  runs  on  uniform  and 
regular  as  usual,  and  infidel  scoffers  are  taking  umbrage 
from  thence  to  ask,  "  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming? 
for  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  continue  as  they 
were  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation."  2  Pet.  iii.  4. 
In  short,  when  there  are  no  more  visible  appearances  of 
this  approaching  day,  than  of  the  destruction  of  Sodom  on 
that  fine  clear  morning  in  which  Lot  fled  away ;  or  of  the 
deluge,  when  Noah  entered  into  the  ark ;  then  in  that  hour 
of  unapprehensive  security,  then  suddenly  shall  the  hea- 
vens open  over  the  astonished  world ;  then  shall  the  all- 
alarming  clangor  break  over  their  heads  like  a  clap  of 
thunder  in  a  clear  sky.  Immediately  the  living  turn  their 
gazing  eyes  upon  the  amazing  phenomenon;  a  few  hear 
the  long-expected  sound  with  rapture,  and  lift  up  their 
heads  with  joy,  assured  that  the  day  of  their  redemption 
is  come,  while  the  thoughtless  world  are  struck  with  the 
wildest  horror  and  consternation.  In  the  same  instant  the 
sound  reaches  all  the  mansions  of  the  dead,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment, in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  they  are  raised,  and  the 
living  are  changed.  This  call  will  be  as  animating  to  all 
the  sons  of  men,  as  that  call  to  a  single  person,  Lazarus, 
come  forth.  Oh  what  a  surprise  will  this  be  to  a  thought- 
less world  !  Should  this  alarm  burst  over  our  heads  this 
moment,  into  what  a  terror  would  it  strike  many  in  this 
assembly !  Such  will  be  the  terror,  such  the  consternation, 
when  it  actually  comes  to  pass.  Sinners  will  be  the  same 
timorous,  self-condemned  creatures  then,  as  they  are  now. 
And  then  they  will  not  be  able  to  stop  their  ears,  who  are 
deaf  to  all  the  gentler  calls  of  the  gospel  now.  Then  the 
trump  of  God  will  constrain  them  to  hear  arid  fear,  to 
whom  the  ministers  of  Christ  now  preach  in  vain.  Then 
they  must  all  hear,  for 

VOL.  I.— 63 


498  THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION. 

II.  My  text  tells  you,  all  that  are  in  the  graves,  all  with- 
out exception,  shall  hear  his  voice.  Now  the  voice  of 
mercy  calls,  reason  pleads,  conscience  warns,  but  multitudes 
will  not  hear.  But  this  is  a  voice  which  shall,  which  must 
reach  every  one  of  the  millions  of  mankind,  and  not  one 
of  them  will  be  able  to  stop  his  ears.  Infants  and  giants, 
kings  and  subjects,  all  ranks,  all  ages  of  mankind  shall  hear 
the  call.  The  living  shall  start  and  be  changed,  and  the 
dead  rise  at  the  sound.  The  dust  that  was  once  alive  and 
formed  a  human  body,  whether  it  flies  in  the  air,  floats  in 
ocean,  or  vegetates  on  earth,  shall  hear  the  new-creating 
fiat.  Wherever  the  fragments  of  the  human  frame  are 
scattered,  this  all-penetrating  call  shall  reach  and  speak 
them  into  life.  We  may  consider  this  voice  as  a  summons 
not  only  to  dead  bodies  to  rise,  but  to  the  souls  that  once 
animated  them,  to  appear  and  be  re-united  to  them,  whether 
in  heaven  or  hell.  To  the  grave,  the  call  will  be,  Arise, 
ye  dead,  and  come  to  judgment ;  to  heaven,  ye  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect ;  "  descend  to  the  world  whence 
you  originally  came;  and  assume  your  new-formed  bodies :" 
to  hell,  "  Come  forth  and  appear,  ye  damned  ghosts,  ye 
prisoners  of  darkness,  and  be  again  united  to  the  bodies  in 
which  you  once  sinned,  that  in  them  ye  may  now  suffer." 
Thus  will  this  summons  spread  through  every  corner  of 
the  universe;  and  heaven,  earth,  and  hell,  and  all  their  in- 
habitants, shall  hear  and  obey.  Devils,  as  well  as  sinners 
of  our  race,  will  tremble  at  the  sound ;  for  now  they  know 
they  can  plead  no  more  as  they  once  did,  Torment  us  not 
before  the  time  ;  for  the  time  is  come,  and  they  must  min- 
gle with  the  prisoners  at  the  bar.  And  now  when  all  that 
are  in  the  graves  hear  this  all-quickening  voice, 

III.  They  shall  come  forth.  Now  methinks  I  see,  I 
hear  the  earth  heaving,  charnel-houses  rattling,  tombs 
bursting,  graves  opening.  Now  the  nations  under  ground 


THE   GENERAL    RESURRECTION.  499 

begin  to  stir.  There  is  a  noise  and  a  shaking  among  the 
dry  bones.  The  dust  is  all  alive,  and  in  motion,  and  the 
globe  breaks  and  trembles,  as  with  an  earthquake,  while 
this  vast  army  is  working  its  way  through  and  bursting 
into  life.  The  ruins  of  human  bodies  are  scattered  far 
and  wide,  and  have  passed  through  many  and  surprising 
transformations.  A  limb  in  one  country,  and  another  in 
another;  here  the  head  and  there  the  trunk,  and  the 
ocean  rolling  between.*  Multitudes  have  sunk  in  a 
watery  grave,  been  swallowed  up  by  the  monsters  of  the 
deep,  and  transformed  into  a  part  of  their  flesh.  Multi- 
tudes have  been  eaten  by  beasts  and  birds  of  prey,  and 
incorporated  with  them;  and  some  have  been  devoured  by 
their  fellow-men  in  the  rage  of  a  desperate  hunger,  or  of 
unnatural  cannibal  appetite,  and  digested  into  a  part  of 
them.  Multitudes  have  mouldered  into  dust,  and  this 
dust  has  been  blown  about  by  winds,  and  washed  away 
with  water,  or  it  has  petrified  into  stone,  or  been  burnt 
into  brick  to  form  dwellings  for  their  posterity;  or  it  has 
grown  up  in  grain,  trees,  plants,  and  other  vegetables, 
which  are  the  support  of  man  and  beast,  and  are  trans- 
formed into  their  flesh  and  blood.  But  through  all  these 
various  transformations  and  changes,  not  a  particle  that 
was  essential  to  one  human  body  has  been  lost,  or  incor- 
porated with  another  human  body,  so  as  to  become  an 
essential  part  of  it.  And  as  to  those  particles  that  were 
not  essential,  they  are  not  necessary  to  the  identity  of  the 
body  or  of  the  person;  and  therefore  we  need  not  think 
they  will  be  raised  again.  The  omniscient  God  knows 
how  to  collect,  distinguish,  and  compound  all  those  scat- 
tered and  mingled  seeds  of  our  mortal  bodies.  And  now 

*  This  was  the  fate  of  Pompey,  who  was  slain  on  the  African  shore.  His 
body  was  left  there,  and  his  head  carried  over  the  Mediterranean  to  Julius 
Caesar. 


500  THE    GENERAL   RESURRECTION. 

at  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  they  shall  all  be  collected, 
wherever  they  were  scattered;  all  properly  sorted  and 
united,  however  they  were  confused;  atom  to  its  fellow- 
atom,  bone  to  its  fellow-bone.  Now  methinks  you  may 
see  the  air  darkened  with  fragments  of  bodies  flying 
from  country  to  country,  to  meet  and  join  their  proper 
parts : 

"  Scatter'd  limbs,  and  all 
The  various  bones  obsequious  to  the  call, 
Self-mov'd,  advance ;  the  neck  perhaps  to  meet 
The  distant  head,  the  distant  legs,  the  feet. 
Dreadful  to  view,  see  through  the  dusky  sky 
Fragments  of  bodies  in  confusion  fly, 
To  distant  regions  journeying,  there  to  claim 
Deserted  members,  and  complete  the  frame — 
The  sever'd  head  and  trunk  shall  join  once  more, 
Tho'  realms  now  rise  between,  and  oceans  roar, 
The  trumpet's  sound  each  vagrant  mote  shall  hear, 
Or  fixed  in  earth,  or  if  afloat  in  air, 

%  Obey  the  signal,  wafted  in  the  wind, 
And  not  one  sleeping  atom  lag  behind." — * 
All  hear  :  and  now,  in  fairer  prospect  shown, 
Limb  clings  to  limb,  and  bone  rejoins  its  bone. — f 

Then,  my  brethren,  your  dust  and  mine  shall  be  rean- 
imated and  organized ;  "  and  though  after  our  skin  worms 
destroy  these  bodies,  yet  in  our  flesh  shall  we  see  God." 
Job  xix.  16. 

*  Young's  Last  Day,  Book  II. 

f  These  two  last  lines  are  taken  from  a  poem,  which  is  a  lively  imitation 
of  Dr.  Young,  entitled,  The  Day  of  Judgment,  ascribed  to  Mr.  Ogilvie,  a 
promising  young  genius  of  Aberdeen,  in  Scotland,  not  above  nineteen  years 
of  age,  as  I  was  informed,  when  he  composed  this  poem.  The  lines  pre- 
ceding these  quoted  are  as  follows  : 

O'er  boiling  waves  the  severed  members  swim, 

Each  breeze  is  loaded  with  a  broken  limb : 

The  living  atoms,  with  peculiar  care, 

Drawn  from  their  cells,  come  flying  thro'  the  air. 

"Where'er  they  lurk'd,  thro'  ages  uiidecay'd, 

Deep  in  the  rock,  or  cloth'd  some  smiling  mead  ; 

Or  in  the  lily's  snowy  bosom  grew, 

Or  ting'd  the  sapphire  with  its  lovely  blue ; 


THE   GENERAL   RESURRECTION.  501 

And  what  a  vast  improvement  will  the  frail  nature  of 
man  then  receive?  Our  bodies  will  then  be  substantially 
the  same;  but  how  different  in  qualities,  in  strength,  in 
agility,  in  capacities  for  pleasure  or  pain,  in  beauty  or 
deformity,  in  glory  or  terror,  according  to  the  moral 
character  of  the  person  to  whom  they  belong  ?  Matter, 
we  know,  is  capable  of  prodigious  alterations  and  refine- 
ments; and  there  it  will  appear  in  the  highest  perfection. 
The  bodies  of  the  saints  will  be  formed  glorious,  incor- 
ruptible, without  the  seeds  of  sickness  and  death.  The 
glorified  body  of  Christ,  which  is  undoubtedly  carried  to 
the  highest  perfection  that  matter  is  capable  of,  will  be  the 
pattern  after  which  they  shall  be  formed.  He  will  change 
our  vile  body,  says  St.  Paul,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like 
unto  his  glorious  body.  Phil.  iii.  21.  "Flesh  and  blood," 
in  their  present  state  of  grossness  and  frailty,  "  cannot 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God:  neither  doth  corruption  in- 
herit incorruption.  For  this  corruptible  must  put  on  in- 
corruption,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immortality." 
1  Cor.  xv.  50,  53.  And  how  vast  the  change,  how  high 
the  improvement  from  this  present  state  !  "  It  is  sown  in 
corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incorruption ;  it  is  sown  in  dis- 

Or  in  some  purling  stream  refresh'd  the  plains  ; 
Or  form'd  the  mountain's  adamantine  veins  ; 
Or  gaily  sporting  in  the  breathing  spring, 
Perfum'd  the  whisp'ring  zephyr's  balmy  wing — 
All  hear,  &c. 

The  thought  seems  to  be  borrowed  from  Mr.  Addison's  fine  Latin  poem 
on  the  resurrection,  in  which  are  the  following  beautiful  lines  : 

Jam  pulvis  varias  terrse  dispersa  per  oras, 
Sive  inter  venas  teneri  concreta  metalli, 
Sensim  diriguit,  seu  sese  immiscuit  herbis, 
Explicita  est ;  molem  rursus  coalescit  in  unam 
Divisum  Funus,  sparsos  prior  alligat  artus 
Junctura,  aptanturque  ;  iterum  coeuntia  membra. 


502  THE   GENERAL   RESURRECTION. 

honour,  it  is  raised  in  glory;  it  is  sown  in  weakness, 
it  is  raised  in  power,"  verses  42,  43,  &c.  Then  wiU 
the  body  be  able  to  bear  up  under  the  exceeding  great 
and  eternal  weight  of  glory;  it  will  no  longer  be  a  clog  or 
an  incumbrance  to  the  soul,  but  a  proper  instrument  and 
assistant  in  all  the  exalted  services  and  enjoyments  of  the 
heavenly  state. 

The  bodies  of  the  wicked  will  also  be  improved,  but 
their  improvements  will  all  be  terrible  and  vindictive. 
Their  capacities  will  be  thoroughly  enlarged,  but  then  it 
will  be  that  they  may  be  made  capable  of  greater  misery : 
they  will  be  strengthened,  but  it  will  be  that  they  may 
bear  the  heavier  load  of  torment.  Their  sensations  will 
be  more  quick  and  strong,  but  it  will  be  that  they  may 
feel  the  more  exquisite  pain.  They  will  be  raised  im- 
mortal that  they  may  not  be  consumed  by  everlasting  fire, 
or  escape  punishment  by  dissolution  or  annihilation.  In 
short,  their  augmented  strength,  their  enlarged  capacities, 
and  their  immortality,  will  be  their  eternal  curse;  and 
they  would  willingly  exchange  them  for  the  fleeting  dura- 
tion of  a  fading  flower,  or  the  faint  sensations  of  an  infant. 
The  only  power  they  would  rejoice  in  is  that  of  self- 
annihilation. 

And  now  when  the  bodies  are  completely  formed  and 
fit  to  be  inhabited,  the  souls  that  once  animated  them, 
being  collected  from  heaven  and  hell,  re-enter  and  take 
possession  of  their  old  mansions.  They  are  united  in 
bonds  which  shall  never  more  be  dissolved:  and  the 
mouldering  tabernacles  are  now  become  everlasting  habita- 
tions. 

And  with  what  joy  will  the  spirits  of  the  righteous 
welcome  their  old  companions  from  their  long  sleep  in 
the  dust,  and  congratulate  their  glorious  resurrection! 
How  will  they  rejoice  to  re-enter  their  old  habitations, 


THE   GENERAL    RESURRECTION.  503 

now  so  completely  repaired  and  highly  improved!  to  find 
those  bodies  which  were  on,ce  their  incumbrance,  once 
frail  and  mortal,  in  which  they  were  imprisoned,  and 
languished,  once  their  temptation,  tainted  with  the  seeds 
of  sin,  now  their  assistants  and  co-partners  in  the  business 
of  heaven,  now  vigorous,  incorruptible,  and  immortal, 
now  free  from  all  corrupt  mixtures,  and  shining  in  all  the 
beauties  of  perfect  holiness !  In  these  bodies  they  once 
served  their  God  with  honest  though  feeble  efforts,  con- 
flicted with  sin  and  temptation,  and  passed  through  all 
the  united  trials  and  hardships  of  mortality  and  the  Chris- 
tian life.  But  now  they  are  united  to  them  for  more 
exalted  and  blissful  purposes.  The  lungs  that  were  wont 
to  heave  with  penitential  sighs  and  groans,  shall  now 
shout  forth  their  joys  and  the  praises  of  their  God  and 
Saviour.  The  heart  that  was  once  broken  with  sorrows 
shall  now  be  bound  up  for  ever,  and  overflow  with  im- 
mortal pleasures.  Those  very  eyes  that  were  wont  to 
run  down  with  tears,  and  to  behold  many  a  tragical  sight, 
shall  now  behold  the  King  in  his  beauty,  shall  behold  the 
Saviour  whom,  though  unseen,  they  loved,  and  all  the 
glories  of  heaven ;  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all  their  tears. 
All  the  senses,  which  were  once  avenues  of  pain,  shall 
now  be  inlets  of  the  most  exalted  pleasure.  In  short, 
every  organ,  every  member  shall  be  employed  in  the  most 
noble  services  and  enjoyments,  instead  of  the  sordid  and 
laborious  drudgery,  and  the  painful  sufferings  of  the  pre- 
sent state.  Blessed  change  indeed!  Rejoice,  ye  children 
of  God,  in  the  prospect  of  it. 

But  how  shall  I  glance  a  thought  upon  the  dreadful 
case  of  the  wicked  in  that  tremendous  day !  While  their 
bodies  burst  from  their  graves,  the  miserable  spectacles  of 
horror  and  deformity,  see  the  millions  of  gloomy  ghosts 
that  once  animated  them,  rise  like  pillars  of  smoke  from 


504  THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION. 

the  bottomless  pit !  and  with  what  reluctance  and  anguish 
do  they  re-enter  their  old  habitations  !  Oh  what  a  dreadful 
meeting !  What  shocking  salutations  !  "  And  must  I  be 
chained  to  thee  again,  (may  the  guilty  soul  say,)  Oh  thou 
accursed,  polluted  body,  thou  system  of  deformity  and  ter- 
ror !  In  thee  I  once  sinned,  by  thee  I  was  once  ensnared, 
debased,  and  ruined :  to  gratify  thy  vile  lusts  and  appetites 
I  neglected  my  own  immortal  interests,  degraded  my  na- 
tive dignity,  and  made  myself  miserable  for  ever.  And 
hast  thou  now  met  me  to  torment  me  for  ever?  Oh  that 
thou  hadst  still  slept  in  the  dust,  and  never  been  repaired 
again  !  Let  me  rather  be  condemned  to  animate  a  toad 
or  serpent  than  that  odious  body  once  defiled  with  sin,  and 
the  instrument  of  my  guilty  pleasures,  now  made  strong 
and  immortal  to  torment  me  with  strong  and  immortal 
pains.  Once  indeed  I  received  sensations  of  pleasure  from 
thee,  but  now  thou  art  transformed  into  an  engine  of  tor- 
ture. No  more  shall  I  through  thine  eyes  behold  the 
cheerful  light  of  the  day,  and  the  beautiful  prospects  of 
nature,  but  the  thick  glooms  of  hell,  grim  and  ghastly 
ghosts,  heaven  at  an  impassable  distance,  and  all  the  hor- 
rid sights  of  wo  in  the  infernal  regions.  No  more  shall 
thine  ears  charm  me  with  the  harmony  of  sounds,  but  ter- 
rify and  distress  me  with  the  echo  of  eternal  groans,  and 
the  thunder  of  almighty  vengeance !  No  more  shall  the 
gratification  of  thine  appetites  afford  me  pleasure,  but  thine 
appetites,  for  ever  hungry,  for  ever  unsatisfied,  shall  eter- 
nally torment  me  with  their  eager  importunate  cravings. 
No  more  shall  thy  tongue  be  employed  in  mirth,  and  jest, 
and  song,  but  complain,  and  groan,  and  blaspheme,  and 
roar  for  ever.  Thy  feet,  that  once  walked  in  the  flowery 
enchanted  paths  of  sin,  must  now  walk  on  the  dismal  burn- 
ing soil  of  hell.  Oh  my  wretched  companion !  I  parted 
with  thee  with  pain  and  reluctance  in  the  struggles  of 


THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION.  505 

death,  but  now  I  meet  thee  with  greater  terror  and  agony. 
Return  to  thy  bed  in  the  dust;  there  to  sleep  and  rot,  and 
let  me  never  see  thy  shocking  visage  more."  In  vain  the 
petition  !  the  reluctant  soul  must  enter  its  prison,  from 
whence  it  shall  never  more  be  dismissed.  And  if  we  might 

o 

indulge  imagination  so  far,  we  might  suppose  the  body  be- 
gins to  recriminate  in  such  language  as  this :  "  Come, 
guilty  soul,  enter  thy  old  mansion ;  if  it  be  horrible  and 
shocking,  it  is  owing  to  thyself.  Was  not  the  animal  frame, 
the  brutal  nature,  subjected  to  thy  government,  who  art  a 
rational  principle  ?  instead  of  being  debased  by  me,  it  be- 
came thee  to  have  not  only  retained  the  dignity  of  thy 
nature,  but  to  have  exalted  mine,  by  nobler  employments 
and  gratifications  worthy  an  earthly  body  united  to  an  im- 
mortal spirit. 

Thou  mightest  have  restrained  my  members  from 
being  the  instruments  of  sin,  and  made  them  the  instru- 
ments of  righteousness.  My  knees  would  have  bowed 
at  the  throne  of  grace,  but  thou  didst  not  affect  that  pos- 
ture. Mine  eyes  would  have  read,  and  mine  ears  heard 
the  word  of  life ;  but  thou  wouldest  not  set  them  to  that 
employ,  or  wouldst  not  attend  to  it.  And  now  it  is 
but  just  the  body  thou  didst  prostitute  to  sin  should  be 
the  instrument  of  thy  punishment.  Indeed,  fain  would 
I  relapse  into  senseless  earth  as  I  was,  and  continue  in  that 
insensibility  for  ever : — but  didst  thou  not  hear  the  all-rous- 
ing trumpet  just  now?  did  it  not  even  shake  the  foundations 
of  thy  infernal  prison  ?  It  was  that  call  that  awakened  me, 
and  summoned  me  to  meet  thee,  and  I  could  not  resist  it. 
Therefore,  come,  miserable  soul,  take  possession  of  this 
frame,  and  let  us  prepare  for  everlasting  burning.  Oh  that 
it  were  now  possible  to  die !  Oh  that  we  could  be  again 
separated,  and  never  be  united  more !  Vain  wish ;  the 
weight  of  mountains,  the  pangs  of  hell,  the  flames  of  un- 

VOL.  I.— 64 


506  THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION. 

quenchable  fire,  can  never  dissolve  these  chains  which  now 
bind  us  together?"* 

O  sirs!  what  a  shocking  interview  is  this!  Oh  the 
glorious,  dreadful  morning  of  the  resurrection !  What 
scenes  of  unknown  joy  and  terror  will  then  open !  Me- 
thinks  we  must  always  have  it  in  prospect;  it  must  even 
now  engage  our  thoughts,  and  fill  us  with  trembling  soli- 
citude, and  make  it  the  great  object  of  our  labour  and  pur- 
suit to  share  in  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 

But  for  what  ends  do  these  sleeping  multitudes  rise? 
For  what  purposes  do  they  come  forth  ?  My  text  will  tell 
you. 

IV.  They  shall  come  forth,  "  some  to  the  resurrection 
of  life,  and  some  to  the  resurrection  of  damnation."  They 
are  summoned  from  their  graves  to  stand  at  the  bar,  and 
brought  out  of  prison  by  angelic  guards  to  pass  their  last 
trial.  And  as  in  this  impartial  trial  they  will  be  found  to 
be  persons  of  very  different  characters,  the  righteous  Judge 
of  the  earth  will  accordingly  pronounce  their  different 
doom. 

See  a  glorious  multitude,  which  none  can  number,  openly 
acquitted,  pronounced  blessed,  and  welcomed  "into  the 

*  The  Rev.  Mr.  John  Reynolds,  in  his  poem  entitled  Death's  Vision,  intro- 
duces the  soul  speaking  against  the  body,  and  afterwards  checking  its  cen- 
sures, and  turning  them  upon  itself,  in  a  vein  of  thought  not  unlike  that  of 
Mr.  Davies. 

Go,  tempter,  go,  as  thou  hast  been 

A  quick  extinguisher  of  heav'nly  fires  ! 

A  source  of  black  enormity  and  sin, 
Thou  cramp  of  sacred  motions  and  desires ! 

How  brave  and  bless'd  am  I. 

Unfetter'd  from  the  company, 

Thou  enemy  of  my  joys  and  me  ? 

But  pardon  that  I  thus 

Unconsciously  accuse ! 

How  much  more  cruel  have  I  been  to  thee ! 

"  'Twas  cruel  that  I  oblig'd  thee  to  obey, 

The  wilful  dictates  of  my  guilty  sway." 


THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION.  507 

kingdom  prepared  for  them  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world."  Now  they  enter  upon  a  state  which  deserves  the 
name  of  life.  They  are  all  vital,  all  active,  all  glo- 
rious, all  happy.  They  "  shine  brighter  than  the  stars  in 
the  firmament ;  like  the  sun  for  ever  and  ever."  All  their 
faculties  overflow  with  happiness.  They  mingle  with  the 
glorious  company  of  angels;  they  behold  that  Saviour 
whom  unseen  they  loved ;  they  dwell  in  eternal  intimacy 
with  the  Father  of  their  spirits;  they  are  employed  with 
ever-new  and  growing  delight  in  the  exalted  services  of 
the  heavenly  sanctuary.  They  shall  never  more  fear, 
nor  feel  the  least  touch  of  sorrow,  pain,  or  any  kind  of 
misery,  but  shall  be  as  happy  as  their  natures  can  admit 
through  an  immortal  duration.  What  a  glorious  new  crea- 
tion is  here !  what  illustrious  creatures  formed  of  the  dust ! 
And  shall  any  of  us  join  in  this  happy  company]  Oh 
shall  any  of  us,  feeble,  dying,  sinful  creatures,  share  in 
their  glory  and  happiness?  This  is  a  most  interesting  in- 
quiry, and  I  would  have  you  think  of  it  with  trembling 
anxiety ;  and  I  shall  presently  answer  it  in  its  place. 

The  prospect  would  be  delightful,  if  our  charity  could 
hope  that  this  will  be  the  happy  end  of  all  the  sons  of  men. 
But,  alas !  multitudes,  and  we  have  reason  to  fear  the  far 
greater  number,  shall  come  forth,  not  to  the  resurrection 
of  life,  but  to  the  resurrection  of  damnation  !  what  terror  is 
in  the  sound !  If  audacious  sinners  in  our  world  make 
light  of  it,  and  pray  for  it  on  every  trifling  occasion,  their 
infernal  brethren,  that  feel  its  tremendous  import,  are  not 
so  hardy,  but  tremble  and  groan,  and  can  trifle  with  it  no 
more. 

Let  us  realize  the  miserable  doom  of  this  class  of  man- 
kind. See  them  bursting  into  life  from  their  subterranean 
dungeons,  hideous  shapes  of  deformity  and  terror,  expres- 
sive of  the  vindictive  design  for  which  their  bodies  are  re- 


508  THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION. 

paired,  and  of  the  boisterous  and  malignant  passions  that 
ravage  their  souls.  Horror  throbs  through  every  vein, 
and  glares  wild  and  furious  in  their  eyes.  Every  joint 
trembles,  and  every  countenance  looks  downcast  and 
gloomy.  Now  they  see  that  tremendous  day  of  which 
they  were  warned  in  vain,  and  shudder  at  those  terrors  of 
which  they  once  made  light.  They  immediately  know 
the  grand  business  of  the  day,  and  the  dreadful  purpose 
for  which  they  are  roused  from  their  slumbers  in  the 
grave;  to  be  tried,  to  be  convicted,  to  be  condemned,  and 
to  be  dragged  away  to  execution.  Conscience  has  been 
anticipating  the  trial  in  a  separate  state ;  and  no  sooner  is 
the  soul  united  to  the  body,  than  immediately  conscience 
ascends  its  throne  in  the  breast,  and  begins  to  accuse,  to 
convict,  to  pass  sentence,  to  upbraid,  and  to  torment.  The 
sinner  is  condemned,  condemned  at  his  own  tribunal,  be- 
fore he  arrives  at  the  bar  of  his  Judge.  The  first  act  of 
consciousness  in  his  new  state  of  existence  is  a  conviction 
that  he  is  condemned,  an  irrevocably  condemned  creature. 
He  enters  the  court,  knowing  beforehand  how  it  will  go 
with  him.  When  he  finds  himself  ordered  to  the  left  hand 
of  his  Judge,  when  he  hears  the  dreadful  sentence  thun- 
dered out  against  him,  Depart  from  me,  accursed,  it  was 
but  what  he  expected.  Now  he  can  flatter  himself  with 
vain  hopes,  and  shut  his  eyes  against  the  light  of  convic- 
tion, but  then  he  will  not  be  able  to  hope  better ;  then  he 
must  know  the  worst  of  his  case.  The  formality  of  the 
judicial  trial  is  necessary  for  the  conviction  of  the  world, 
but  not  for  his;  his  own  conscience  has  already  deter- 
mined his  condition.  However,  to  convince  others  of 
the  justice  of  his  doom,  he  is  dragged  and  guarded  from 
his  grave  to  the  judgment-seat  by  fierce,  unrelenting  devils, 
now  his  tempters,  but  then  his  tormentors.  With  what 
horror  does  he  view  the  burning  throne  and  the  frowning 


THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION.  609 

face  of  his  Judge,  that  Jesus  whom  he  once  disregarded, 
in  spite  of  all  his  dying  love  and  the  salvation  he  offered ! 
How  does  he  wish  for  a  covering  of  rocks  and  mountains 
to  conceal  him  from  his  angry  eye  !  but  all  in  vain.  Ap- 
pear he  must.  He  is  ordered  to  the  left  among  the  trem- 
bling criminals ;  and  now  the  trial  comes  on.  All  his  evil 
deeds,  and  all  his  omissions  of  duty,  are  now  produced 
against  him.  All  the  mercies  he  abused,  all  the  chastise- 
ments he  despised,  all  the  means  of  grace  he  neglected  or 
misimproved,  every  sinful,  and  even  every  idle  word,  nay, 
his  most  secret  thoughts  and  dispositions,  are  all  exposed, 
and  brought  into  judgment  against  him.  And  when  the 
Judge  puts  it  to  him,  "  Is  it  not  so,  sinner?  Are  not  these 
charges  true?"  conscience  obliges  him  to  confess  and  cry 
out,  Guilty !  guilty !  And  now  the  trembling  criminal  be- 
ing plainly  convicted  and  left  without  all  plea  and  all  ex- 
cuse, the  supreme  Judge,  in  stern  majesty  and  inexorable 
justice,  thunders  out  the  dreadful  sentence,  "Depart  from 
me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  his  angels."  Matt.  xxv.  41.  Oh  tremendous  doom! 
every  word  is  big  with  terror,  and  shoots  a  thunderbolt 
through  the  heart.  "  Depart :  away  from  my  presence ; 
I  cannot  bear  so  loathsome  a  sight.  I  once  invited  thee 
to  come  to  me,  that  thou  mightest  have  life,  but  thou 
wouldst  not  regard  the  invitation;  and  now  thou  shalt 
never  hear  that  inviting  voice  more.  Depart  from  me ; 
from  me,  the  only  Fountain  of  happiness,  the  only  proper 
Good  for  an  immortal  mind."  "  But,  Lord,"  (we  may  sup- 
pose the  criminal  to  say,)  "  if  I  must  depart,  bless  me  be- 
fore I  go."  "No,"  says  the  angry  Judge,  "depart  ac- 
cursed ;  depart  with  my  eternal  and  heavy  curse  upon  thee ; 
the  curse  of  that  power  that  made  thee ;  a  curse  dreadfully 
efficacious,  that  blasts  whatever  it  falls  upon  like  flashes  of 
consuming,  irresistible  lightning."  "  But  if  I  must  go  away 


510  THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION. 

under  thy  curse,  (the  criminal  may  be  supposed  to  say,)  let 
that  be  all  my  punishment ;  let  me  depart  to  some  agree- 
able, or  at  least  tolerable  recess,  where  I  may  meet  with 
something  to  mitigate  the  curse."  "  No,  depart  into  fire ; 
there  burn  in  all  the  excruciating  tortures  of  that  outra- 
geous element."  .  "  But,  Lord,  if  I  must  make  my  bed  in 
fire,  oh  let  it  be  transient  blaze,  that  will  soon  burn  itself 
out,  and  put  an  end  to  my  torment."  "No,  depart  into 
everlasting  fire;  there  burn  without  consuming,  and  be 
tormented  without  end."  "  But,  Lord,  grant  me  (cries  the 
poor  wretch)  at  least  the  mitigation  of  friendly,  entertain- 
ing, and  sympathizing  company;  or,  if  this  cannot  be 
granted,  grant  me  this  small,  this  almost  no  request,  to  be 
doomed  to  some  solitary  corner  in  hell,  where  I  shall  be 
punished  only  by  my  own  conscience  and  thine  immediate 
hand ;  but  oh  deliver  me  from  these  malicious,  tormenting 
devils;  banish  me  into  some  apartment  in  the  infernal  pit 
far  from  their  society."  "  No,  depart  into  everlasting  fire 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels :  thou  must  make  one 
of  their  wretched  crew  for  ever :  thou  didst  join  with  them 
in  sinning,  and  now  must  share  in  their  punishment :  thou 
didst  submit  to  them  as  thy  tempters,  and  now  thou  must 
submit  to  them  as  thy  tormentors." 

Sentence  being  pronounced,  it  is  immediately  executed. 
These  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment.  Matt. 
xxv.  46.  Devils  drag  them  away  to  the  pit,  and  push 
them  down  headlong.  There  they  are  confined  in  chains 
of  darkness,  and  in  a  lake  burning  with  fire  and  brimstone, 
for  ever,  for  ever !  In  that  dreadful  word  lies  the  empha- 
sis of  torment ;  it  is  a  hell  in  hell.  If  they  might  be  but 
released  from  pain,  though  it  were  by  annihilation  after 
they  have  wept  away  ten  thousand  millions  of  ages  in  ex- 
tremity of  pain,  it  would  be  some  mitigation,  some  encour- 
agement ;  but,  alas !  when  as  many  millions  of  ages  are 


THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION.  511 

passed  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  or  the  sands  on  the  sea- 
shore, or  the  atoms  of  dust  in,  this  huge  globe  of  earth, 
their  punishment  is  as  far  from  an  end  as  when  the  sen- 
tence was  pronounced  upon  them.  For  ever!  there 
is  no  exhausting  of  that  word;  and  when  it  is  affixed 
to  the  highest  degree  of  misery,  the  terror  of  the  sound 
is  utterly  insupportable.  See,  sirs,  what  depends  upon 
time,  that  span  of  time  we  may  enjoy  in  this  fleeting 
life.  Eternity!  awful,  all-important  eternity!  depends 
upon  it. 

All  this  while  conscience  tears  the  sinner's  heart  with 
the  most  tormenting  reflections.  "  Oh  what  a  fair  oppor- 
tunity I  once  had  for  salvation,  had  I  improved  it!  I  was 
warned  of  the  consequences  of  a  life  of  sin  and  careless- 
ness ;  I  was  told  of  the  necessity  of  faith,  repentance, 
and  universal  holiness  of  heart  and  life ;  I  enjoyed  a  suf- 
ficient space  for  repentance,  and  all  the  necessary  means 
of  salvation,  but,  fool  that  I  was,  I  neglected  all,  I  abused 
all ;  I  refused  to  part  with  my  sins ;  I  refused  to  engage 
seriously  in  religion,  and  to  seek  God  in  earnest;  and  now 
I  am  lost  for  ever,  without  hope.  Oh !  for  one  of  those 
months,  one  of  those  weeks,  or  even  so  much  as  one  of 
those  days  or  hours  I  once  trifled  away;  with  what  earn- 
estness, with  what  solicitude  would  I  improve  it !  But  all 
my  opportunities  are  past,  beyond  recovery,  and  not  a 
moment  shall  be  given  me  for  this  purpose  any  more. 
Oh  what  a  fool  was  I  to  sell  my  soul  for  such  trifles !  to 
set  so  light  by  heaven,  and  fall  into  hell  through  mere 

•/  O 

neglect  and  carelessness !  Ye  impenitent,  unthinking  sin- 
ners, though  you  may  now  be  able  to  silence  or  drown 
the  clamours  of  your  consciences,  yet  the  time,  or  rather 
the  dread  eternity  is  coming,  when  they  will  speak  in 
spite  of  you ;  when  they  will  speak  home,  and  be  felt  by 
the  most  hardened  and  remorseless  heart.  Therefore  now 


512  THE    GENERAL   RESURRECTION. 

regard  their  warnings  while  they  may  be  the  means  of 
your  recovery. 

You  and  I,  my  brethren,  are  concerned  in  the  solemn 
transaction  of  the  day  I  have  been  describing.  You  and 
I  shall  either  be  changed  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye,  or  while  mouldering  "  in  the  grave,  we  shall 
hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  come  forth,  either 
to  the  resurrection  of  life,  or  to  the  resurrection  of  dam- 
nation." And  which,  my  brethren,  shall  be  our  doom? 
Can  we  foreknow  it  at  this  distance  of  time  ?  I  proposed 
it  to  your  inquiry  already,  whether  you  have  any  good 
reason  to  hope  you  shall  be  of  that  happy  number  who 
shall  rise,  to  life  1  and  now  I  propose  it  again,  with  this 
counterpart,  Have  you  any  evidence  to  hope  you  shall 
not  be  of  that  wretched,  numerous  multitude  who  shall  rise 
to  damnation  ?  If  there  be  any  inquiry  within  the  com- 
pass of  human  knowledge  that  demands  your  solicitous 
thoughts,  certainly  it  is  this.  Methinks  you  cannot  enjoy 
one  moment's  ease  or  security  while  this  is  undetermined. 
And  is  it  an  answerable  inquiry  ?  Can  we  now  know  what 
are  the  present  distinguishing  characters  of  those  who  shall 
then  receive  so  different  a  doom  1  Yes,  my  text  determ- 
ines the  point;  for, 

V.  "  They  that  have  done  good  shall  come  forth  to  the 
resurrection  of  life ;  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  to  the 
resurrection  of  damnation."  These  are  the  grounds  of 
the  distinction  that  shall  then  be  made  in  the  final  states 
of  men,  doing  good  and  doing  evil.  And  certainly  this 
distinction  is  perceivable  now;  to  do  good  and  to  do  evil 
are  not  so  much  alike  as  that  it  should  be  impossible  to 
distinguish  between  them.  Let  us  then  see  what  is  implied 
in  these  characters,  and  to  whom  of  us  they  respectively 
belong. 

1.  What  is  it  to  do  good  ?     This  implies,  (1.)  An  honest 


THE   GENERAL    RESURRECTION.  513 

endeavour  to  keep  all  God's  commandments;  I  say,  all 
his  commandments,  with  regard  to  God,  our  neighbour, 
and  ourselves,  whether  easy  or  difficult,  whether  fashion- 
able or  not,  whether  agreeable  to  our  natural  constitution 
or  not,  whether  enjoining  the  performauce  of  duty  or  for- 
bidding the  commission  of  sin,  whether  regarding  the  heart 
or  the  outward  practice.  I  say,  an  uniform,  impartial  re- 
gard to  all  God's  commandments,  of  whatever  kind,  in  all 
circumstances,  and  at  all  times,  is  implied  in  doing  good ; 
for  if  we  do  any  thing  because  God  commands  it,  we  will 
endeavour  to  do  everything  that  he  commands,  because 
where  the  reason  of  our  conduct  is  the  same,  our  conduct 
itself  will  be  the  same.  I  do  not  mean  that  good  men,  in 
the  present  state,  perfectly  keep  the  commandments  of 
God  in  every  thing,  or  indeed  in  any  thing ;  but  I  mean 
that  universal  obedience  is  their  honest  endeavour.  Their 
character  is  in  some  measure  uniform  and  all  of  a  piece ; 
that  is,  they  do  not  place  all  their  religion  in  obedience  to 
some  commands  which  may  be  agreeable  to  them,  as 
though  that  would  make  atonement  for  their  neglect  of 
others ;  but,  like  David,  they  are  for  having  a  respect,  and 
indeed  have  a  respect  to  all  God's  commandments  :  Psalm 
cxix.  6.  My  brethren,  try  yourselves  by  this  test. 

(2.)  To  do  good  in  an  acceptable  manner  pre-supposes 
a  change  of  nature  and  a  new  principle.  Our  nature  is 
so  corrupted  that  nothing  really  and  formally  good  can  be 
performed  by  us  till  it  be  renewed.  To  confirm  this  I 
shall  only  refer  you  to  Eph.  ii.  10,  and  Ezek.  xxxvi.  26, 
27,  where  being  created  in  Christ  Jesus  to  good  works, 
and  receiving  a  new  heart  of  flesh,  are  mentioned  as  pre- 
requisites to  our  walking  in  God's  statutes.  As  for  the 
principle  of  obedience,  it  is  the  love  of  God  :  1  John  v.  3, 
that  is,  we  must  obey  God,  because  we  love  him ;  we  must 
do  good,  because  we  delight  to  do  good ;  otherwise  it  is 

VOL.  I.— 65 


514  THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION. 

all  hypocrisy,  constraint,  or  selfishness,  and  cannot  be 
acceptable  to  God.  Here,  again,  my  brethren,  look  into 
your  hearts,  and  examine  what  is  the  principle  of  your 
obedience,  and  whether  ever  you  hare  been  made  new 
creatures. 

(3.)  I  must  add,  especially  as  we  live  under  the  gospel, 
that  your  dependence  for  life  must  not  be  upon  the  good 
you  do,  but  entirely  upon  the  righteousness  of  Jesus 
Christ.  After  you  have  done  all,  you  must  acknowledge 
you  are  but  unprofitable  servants ;  and  renounce  all  your 
works  in  point  of  merit,  while  you  abound  in  them  hi 
point  of  practice;  Phil.  iii.  7,  8.  This  is  an  essential 
characteristic  of  evangelical  obedience,  and  without  it  you 
cannot  expect  to  have  a  resurrection  to  eternal  life  and 
blessedness. 

I  might  enlarge  upon  this  head,  but  time  will  not  permit; 
and  I  hope  these  three  characters  may  suffice  to  show  you 
what  is  implied  in  doing  good.  Let  us  now  proceed  to 
the  opposite  character. 

2.  What  is  it  to  do  evil  1  This  implies  such  things  as 
these ;  the  habitual  neglect  of  well-doing,  or  the  perform- 
ance of  duties  in  a  languid,  formal  manner,  or  without  a 
right  principle,  and  the  wilful  indulgence  of  any  one  sin ; 
the  secret  love  of  sin,  though  not  suffered  to  break  forth 
into  the  outward  practice.  Here  it  is  evident  at  first  sight 
that  profane  sinners,  drunkards,  swearers,  defrauders, 
avowed  neglecters  of  religion,  &c.,  have  this  dismal  brand 
upon  them,  that  they  are  such  as  do  evil.  Nay,  all  such 
who  are  in  their  natural  state,  without  regeneration,  what- 
ever their  outside  be,  must  be  ranked  in  this  class ;  "  for 
that  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,"  John  iii.  6;  and 
they  that  are  in  the  flesh  cannot  please  God,  nor  be  rightly 
subject  to  his  law.  Rom.  viii.  7,  8. 

And  now  who  is  for  life,  and  who  for  dammation  among 


THE    GENERAL   RESURRECTION.  515 

you  ?  These  characters  are  intended  to  make  the  dis- 
tinction among  you,  and  I  pray  you  apply  them  for  that 
purpose. 

As  for  such  of  you,  who,  amidst  all  your  lamented  in- 
firmities, are  endeavouring  honestly  to  do  good,  and  grieved 
at  heart  that  you  can  do  no  more,  you  also  must  die ;  you 
must  die,  and  feed  the  worms  in  the  dust.  But  you  shall 
rise  gloriously  improved,  rise  to  an  immortal  life,  and  in 
all  the  terrors  and  consternation  of  that  last  day,  you  will 
be  secure,  serene,  and  undisturbed.  The  almighty  Judge 
will  be  your  friend,  and  that  is  enough.  Let  this  thought 
disarm  the  king  of  terrors,  and  give  you  courage  to  look 
down  into  the  grave,  and  forward  to  the  great  rising-day. 
Oh  what  a  happy  immortality  opens  its  glorions  prospects 
beyond  the  ken  of  sight  before  you  !  and  after  a  few  strug- 
gles more  in  this  state  of  warfare,  and  resting  awhile  in  the 
bed  of  death,  at  the  regions  of  eternal  blessedness  you  will 
arrive,  and  take  up  your  residence  there  for  ever. 

But  are  there  not  some  here  who  are  conscious  that 
these  favourable  characters  do  not  belong  to  them  ?  that 
know  that  well-doing-  is  not  the  business  of  their  life,  but 
that  they  are  workers  of  iniquity  ?  I  tell  you  plainly,  and 
with  all  the  authority  the  word  of  God  can  give,  that  if 
you  continue  such,  you  shall  rise  to  damnation.  That  un- 
doubtedly will  be  your  doom,  unless  you  are  greatly 
changed  and  reformed  in  heart  and  life.  And  will  this  be 
no  excitement  to  vigorous  endeavours  1  Are  you  proof 
against  the  energy  of  such  a  consideration  ?  Ye  careless 
sinners,  awake  out  of  your  security,  and  prepare  for  death 
and  judgment !  this  fleeting  life  is  all  the  time  you  have 
for  preparation,  and  can  you  trifle  it  away  ?  Your  all, 
your  eternal  all  is  set  upon  the  single  cast  of  life,  and  you 
must  stand  the  hazard  of  the  die.  You  can  make  but  one 
experiment,  and  if  that  fail,  through  your  sloth  or  misman- 


516  THE    GENERAL    RESURRECTION. 

agement,  you  are  irrecoverably  undone  for  ever.  There- 
fore, by  the  dread  authority  of  the  great  God,  by  the  ter- 
rors of  death,  and  the  great  rising-day,  by  the  joys  of 
heaven,  and  the  torments  of  hell,  and  by  the  value  of  your 
immortal  souls,  I  entreat,  I  charge,  I  adjure  you  to  awake 
out  of  your  security,  and  improve  the  precious  moments 
of  life.  The  world  is  dying  all  around  you.  And  can 
you  rest  easy  in  such  a  world,  while  unprepared  for 
eternity  ?  Awake  to  righteousness  now,  at  the  gentle  call 
of  the  gospel,  before  the  last  trumpet  give  you  an  alarm  of 
another  kind. 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  517 


SERMON  XX. 

THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

ACTS  XVH.  30,  31. — And  the  times  of  this  ignorance  God 
winked  at ;  but  now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to 
repent :  because  he  hath  appointed  a  day,  in  the  which 
he  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness,  by  that  man 
whom  he  hath  ordained  ;  whereof  he  hath  given  assur- 
ance unto  all  men,  in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the 
dead. 

THE  present  state  is  the  infancy  of  human  nature ;  and 
all  the  events  of  time,  even  those  that  make  such  noise, 
and  determine  the  fate  of  kingdoms,  are  but  the  little 
affairs  of  children.  But  if  we  look  forward  and  trace 
human  nature  to  maturity,  we  meet  with  events  vast,  inter- 
esting, and  majestic;  and  such  as  nothing  but  divine 
authority  can  render  credible  to  us  who  are  so  apt  to 
judge  of  things  by  what  we  see.  To  one  of  those 
scenes  I  would  direct  your  attention  this  day ;  I  mean  the 
solemn,  tremendous,  and  glorious  scene  of  the  universal 
judgment. 

You  have  sometimes  seen  a  stately  building  in  ruins ; 
come  now  and  view  the  ruins  of  a  demolished  world. 
You  have  often  seen  a  feeble  mortal  struggling  in  the 
agonies  of  death,  and  his  shattered  frame  dissolved ;  come 
now  and  view  universal  nature  severely  labouring  and  ago- 
nizing in  her  last  convulsions  and  her  well-compacted 


518  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

system  dissolved.  You  have  heard  of  earthquakes  here 
and  there  that  have  laid  Lisbon,  Palermo,  and  a  few  other 
cities  in  ruins ;  come  now  and  feel  the  tremors  and  con- 
vulsions of  the  whole  globe,  that  blend  cities  and  countries, 
oceans  and  continents,  mountains,  plains,  and  valleys,  in  one 
promiscuous  heap.  You  have  a  thousand  times  beheld 
the  moon  walking  in  brightness,  and  the  sun  shining  in  his 
strength ;  now  look  and  see  the  sun  turned  into  darkness, 
and  the  moon  into  blood. 

It  is  our  lot  to  live  in  an  age  of  confusion,  blood,  and 
slaughter ;  an  age  in  which  our  attention  is  engaged  by 
the  clash  of  arms,  the  clangor  of  trumpets,  the  roar  of 
artillery,  and  the  dubious  fate  of  kingdoms ;  but  draw  off 
your  thoughts  from  these  objects  for  an  hour,  and  fix  them 
on  objects  more  solemn  and  interesting :  come  view 

"  A.  scene  that  yields 

A  louder  trumpet,  and  more  dreadful  fields  ; 
The  world  alarmed,  both  earth  and  heaven  o'erthrown, 
And  gasping  nature's  last  tremendous  groan  ; 
Death's  ancient  sceptre  broke,  the  teeming  tomb, 
,     The  Righteous  Judge,  and  man's  eternal  doom." 

Such  a  scene  there  certainly  is  before  us ;  for  St.  Paul 
tells  us  that  "  God  hath  given  assurance  to  all  men  that  he 
will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom 
he  hath  ordained;"  and  that  his  resurrection,  the  resur- 
rection of  him  who  is  God  and  man,  is  a  demonstrative 
proof  of  it. 

My  text  is  the  conclusion  of  St.  Paul's  defence  or  ser- 
mon before  the  famous  court  of  Areopagus,  in  the  learned 
and  philosophical  city  of  Athens.  In  this  august  and 
polite  assembly  he  speaks  with  the  boldness,  and  in  the 
evangelical  strain,  of  an  apostle  of  Christ.  He  first  incul- 
cates upon  them  the  great  truths  of  natural  religion,  and 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  519 

labours  faithfully,  though  in  a  very  gentle  and  inoffensive 
manner,  to  reform  them  from  that  stupid  idolatry  and 
superstition  into  which  even  this  learned  philosophical  citv 
was  sunk,  though  a  Socrates,  a  Plato,  and  the  most  cele- 
brated sages  and  moralists  of  pagan  antiquity  had  lived 
and  taught  in  it.  Afterwards,  in  the  close  of  his  discourse, 
he  introduces  the  glorious  peculiarities  of  Christianity,  par- 
ticularly the  great  duty  of  repentance,  from  evangelical 
motives,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  the  final  judg- 
ment. But  no  sooner  has  he  entered  upon  this  subject 
than  he  is  interrupted,  and  seems  to  have  broken  off  ab- 
ruptly ;  for  when  he  had  just  hinted  at  the  then  unpopular 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  we  are  told,  some 
mocked,  and  others  put  it  off  to  another  hearing :  We  will 
hear  thee  again  of  this  matter. 

In  these  dark  times  of  ignorance  which  preceded  the 
publication  of  the  gospel,  God  seemed  to  wink  or  connive 
at  the  idolatry  and  various  forms  of  wickedness  that  had 
overspread  the  world ;  that  is,  he  seemed  to  overlook*  or 
to  take  no  notice  of  them,  so  as  either  to  punish  them,  or 
to  give  the  nations  explicit  calls  to  repentance.  But  now, 
says  St.  Paul,  the  case  is  altered.  Now  the  gospel  is  pub- 
lished through  the  world,  and  therefore  God  will  no  longer 
seem  to  connive  at  the  wickedness  and  impenitence  of  man- 
kind, but  publishes  his  great  mandate  to  a  rebel  world, 
explicitly  and  loudly,  commanding  all  men  every  where  to 
repent ;  and  he  now  gives  them  particular  motives  and  en- 
couragements to  this  duty. 

One  motive  of  the  greatest  weight,  which  was  never  so 
clearly  or  extensively  published  before,  is  the  doctrine  of 
the  universal  judgment.  This  the  connection  implies:  "He 
now  commandeth  all  men  to  repent,  because  he  hath  ap- 
pointed a  day  for  judging  all  men."  And  surely  the  pros- 

• 

*  inrcptibiv. 


520  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

pect  of  a  judgment  must  be  a  strong  motive  to  sinners  to  re- 
pent : — this,  if  anything,  will  rouse  them  from  their  thought- 
less security,  and  bring  them  to  repentance.  Repentance 
should,  and  one  would  think  must,  be  as  extensive  as  this 
reason  for  it.  This  St.  Paul  intimates.  "He  now  com- 
mandeth  all  men  to  repent,  because  he  hath  given  assurance 
to  all  men"  that  he  has  "  appointed  a  day  to  judge  the 
world."  Wherever  the  gospel  publishes  the  doctrine  of 
future  judgment,  there  it  requires  all  men  to  repent;  and 
wherever  it  requires  repentance,  there  it  enforces  the  com- 
mand of  this  alarming  doctrine. 

God  has  given  assurance  to  all  men ;  that  is,  to  all  that 
hear  the  gospel,  that  he  has  appointed  a  day  for  this  great 
purpose,  and  that  Jesus  Christ,  God-man,  is  to  preside  in 
person  in  this  majestic  solemnity.  He  has  given  as- 
surance of  this;  that  is,  sufficient  ground  of  faith;  and  the 
assurance  consists  in  this,  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the 
dead. 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  gives  assurance  of  this  in 
several  respects.  It  is  a  specimen  and  a  pledge  of  a 
general  resurrection,  that  grand  preparative  for  the  judg- 
ment :  it  is  an  incontestible  proof  of  his  divine  mission ;  for 
God  will  never  work  so  unprecedented  a  miracle  in  favour 
of  an  impostor :  it  is  also  an  authentic  attestation  of  all  our 
Lord's  claims ;  and  he  expressly  claimed  the  authority  of 
supreme  Judge  as  delegated  to  him  by  the  Father;  "the 
Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed  all  judgment 
to  the  Son."  John  v.  22. 

There  is  a  peculiar  fitness  and  propriety  in  this  con- 
stitution. It  is  fit  that  a  world  placed  under  the  adminis- 
tration of  a  Mediator  should  have  a  mediatorial  Judge. 
It  is  fit  this  high  office  should  be  conferred  upon  him  as 
an  honourary  reward  for  his  important  services  and  ex- 
treme abasement.  Because  he  humbled  himself,  therefore 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  521 

God  hath  highly  exalted  him.  Phil.  ii.  8,  9.  It  is  fit  that 
creatures  clothed  with  bodies,  should  be  judged  by  a  man 
clothed  in  a  body  like  themselves.  Hence  it  is  said  that 
"  God  hath  given  him  authority  to  execute  judgment,  be- 
cause he  is  the  Son  of  man."  John  v.  27.  This  would 
seem  a  strange  reason,  did  we  not  understand  it  in  this 
light.  Indeed,  was  Jesus  Christ  man  only,  he  would  be 
infinitely  unequal  to  the  office  of  universal  Judge ;  but  he 
is  God  and  man,  Immanuel,  God  with  us ;  and  is  the  fittest 
person  in  the  universe  for  the  work.  It  is  also  fit  that 
Christ  should  be  the  supreme  Judge,  as  it  will  be  a  great 
encouragement  to  his  people  for  their  Mediator  to  execute 
this  office:  and  it  may  be  added,  that  hereby  the  con- 
demnation of  the  wicked  will  be  rendered  more  con- 
spicuously just;  for,  if  a  Mediator,  a  Saviour,  the  Friend 
of  sinners,  condemns  them,  they  must  be  worthy  of  con- 
demnation indeed. 

Let  us  now  enter  upon  the  majestic  scene.  But  alas! 
what  images  shall  I  use  to  represent  it?  Nothing  that  we 
have  seen,  nothing  that  we  have  heard,  nothing  that  has 
ever  happened  on  the  stage  of  time,  can  furnish  us  with 
proper  illustrations.  All  is  low  and  grovelling,  all  is  faint 
and  obscure  that  ever  the  sun  shone  upon,  when  compared 
with  the  grand  phenomena  of  that  day;  and  we  are  so 
accustomed  to  low  and  little  objects,  that  it  is  impossible 
we  should  ever  raise  our  thoughts  to  a  suitable  pitch  of 
elevation.  Ere  long  we  shall  be  amazed  spectators  of 
these  majestic  wonders,  and  our  eyes  and  our  ears  will  be 
our  instructors.  But  now  it  is  necessary  we  should  have 
snch  ideas  of  them  as  may  affect  our  hearts,  and  prepare 
us  for  them.  Let  us  therefore  present  to  our  view  those 
representations  which  divine  revelation,  our  only  guide  in 
this  case,  gives  us  of  the  person  of  the  Judge,  and  the 
manner  of  his  appearance ;  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead, 
VOL.  I.— 66 


522  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

and  the  transformation  of  the  living;  of  the  universal  con- 
vention of  all  the  sons  of  men  before  the  supreme  tribunal ; 
of  their  separation  to  the  right  and  left  hand  of  the  Judge, 
according  to  their  characters ;  of  the  judicial  process  itself; 
of  the  decisive  sentence ;  of  its  execution,  and  of  the  con- 
flagration of  the  world. 

As  to  the  person  of  the  Judge,  the  psalmist  tells  you, 
God  is  Judge  himself.  Psalm  1.  6.  Yet  Christ  tells  us, 
"the  Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed  all 
judgment  unto  the  Son;  and  hath  given  him  authority  to 
execute  judgment  also,  because  he  is  the  Son  of  man." 
John  v.  22,  27.  It  is  therefore  Christ  Jesus,  God-man, 
as  I  observed,  who  shall  sustain  this  high  character;  and 
for  the  reasons  already  alleged,  it  is  most  fit  it  should  be 
devolved  upon  him.  Being  God  and  man,  all  the  advan- 
tages of  divinity  and  humanity  centre  in  him,  and  render 
him  more  fit  for  this  office  than  if  he  were  God  only,  or 
man  only.  This  is  the  august  Judge  before  whom  we 
must  stand;  and  the  prospect  may  inspire  us  with  rever- 
ence, joy,  and  terror. 

As  for  the  manner  of  his  appearance,  it  will  be  such  as 
becomes  the  dignity  of  his  person  and  office.  He  will 
shine  in  all  the  uncreated  glories  of  the  Godhead,  and  in 
all  the  gentler  glories  of  a  perfect  man.  His  attendants 
will  add  a  dignity  to  the  grand  appearance,  and  the  sym- 
pathy of  nature  will  increase  the  solemnity  and  terror  of 
the  day.  Let  his  own  word  describe  him.  "  The  Son 
of  man  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  with  his 
angels."  Matt.  xvi.  27.  "  The  Son  of  man  shall  come  in 
his  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him;  then  shall  he 
sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory."  Matt.  xxv.  31:  "The 
Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  his  mighty 
angels,  in  flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know 
not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  523 

Christ."  2  Thess.  i.  7,  8.  And  not  only  will  the  angels, 
those  illustrious  ministers  of  the  court  of  heaven,  attend 
upon  that  solemn  occasion,  but  also  all  the  saints  who  had 
left  the  world  from  Adam  to  that  day;  for  those  that  sleep 
in  Jesus,  says  St.  Paul,  will  God  bring  with  him.  I  Thess. 
iv.  14.  The  grand  imagery  in  Daniel's  vision  is  applicable 
to  this  day :  and  perhaps  to  this  it  primarily  refers :  "  I 
beheld  till  the  thrones  were  cast  down,"  or  rather  set  up,* 
"  and  the  Ancient  of  days  did  sit,  whose  garment  was  white 
as  snow,  and  the  hair  of  his  head  like  the  pure  wool:  his 
throne  was  like  the  fiery  flame,  and  his  wheels  as  burning 
fire.  A  fiery  stream  issued  and  came  forth  from  before 
him:  thousand  thousands  ministered  unto  him,  and  ten 
thousand  times  ten  thousand  stood  before  him."  Dan.  vii. 
9,  10.  Perhaps  our  Lord  may  exhibit  himself  to  the 
whole  world  upon  this  most  grand  occasion,  in  the  same 
glorious  form  in  which  he  was  seen  by  his  favourite  John, 
"  clothed  with  a  garment  down  to  the  foot,  and  girt  ^bout 
the  breasts  with  a  golden  girdle :  his  head  and  his  hairs  white 
like  wool,  as  white  as  snow;  his  eyes  as  a  flame  of  fire: 
his  feet  like  unto  fine  brass,  as  if  they  burned  in  a  furnace ; 
his  voice  as  the  sound  of  many  waters,  and  his  countenance 
as  the  sun  shining  in  his  strength."  Rev.  i.  13,  &c. 
Another  image  of  inimitable  majesty  and  terror  the  same 
writer  gives  us,  when  he  says,  "  I  saw  a  great  white  throne, 
and  him  that  sat  on  it,  from  whose  face  the  earth  and  the 
heaven  fled  away,  and  there  was  found  no  place  for  them." 
Astonishing !  what  an  image  is  this !  the  stable  earth  and 
heaven  cannot  bear  the  majesty  and  terror  of  his  look; 
they  fly  away  affrighted,  and  seek  a  place  to  hide  them- 
selves, but  no  place  is  found  to  shelter  them ;  every  region 

*  This  sense  is  more  agreeable  to  the  connection,  and  the  original  word 
will  bear  it  ;  which  signifies  to  pitch  down  or  place,  as  well  as  to  throw  down 
or  demolish.  And  the  LXX  translate  it,  the  thrones  were  put  up,  or  fixed. 


524  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

through  the  immensity  of  space  lies  open  before  him.* 
Rev.  xx.  11. 

This  is  the  Judge  before  whom  we  must  stand ;  and  this 
is  the  manner  of  his  appearance.  But  is  this  the  babe  of 
Bethlehem  that  lay  and  wept  in  the  manger?  Is  this  the 
supposed  son  of  the  carpenter,  the  despised  Galilean  1  Is 
this  the  man  of  sorrows?  Is  this  he  that  was  arrested, 
was  condemned,  was  buffeted,  was  spit  upon,  was  crowned 
with  thorns,  was  executed  as  a  slave  and  a  criminal,  upon 
the  cross  ?  Yes,  it  is  he ;  the  very  same  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
But  oh  how  changed !  how  deservedly  exalted !  Let 
heaven  and  earth  congratulate  his  advancement.  Now  let 
his  enemies  appear  and  show  their  usual  contempt  and 
malignity.  Now,  Pilate,  condemn  the  King  of  the  Jews 
as  an  usurper.  Now,  ye  Jews,  raise  the  clamour,  Crucify 
him,  crucify  him  ! 

"  Now  bow  the  knee  in  scorn,  present  the  reed  ; 
I  Now  tell  the  scourg'd  Impostor  he  must  bleed." — YOUNG. 

Now,  ye  Deists  and  Infidels,  dispute  his  divinity  and 
the  truth  of  his  religion  if  you  can.  Now,  ye  hypocritical 

*  This  is  the  picture  drawn  by  the  pencil  of  inspiration.     We  may  now 
contemplate  the  imagery  of  a  fine  human  pen. 


-From  his  great  abode 


Full  on  a  whirlwind  rides  the  dreadful  God  : 
The  tempest's  rattling  winds,  the  fiery  car, 
Ten  thousand  hosts  his  ministers  of  war, 
The  flaming  Cherubim,  attend  his  flight. 
And  heaven's  foundations  groan  beneath  the  weight. 
Thro'  all  the  skies  the  forky  lightnings  play, 
And  radiant  splendours  round  his  head  display. 
From  his  bright  eyes  affrighted  worlds  retire : 
He  speaks  in  thunder  and  he  breathes  in  fire. 
Garments  of  heavenly  light  array  the  God  ; 
His  throne  a  bright  consolidated  cloud — 
Support  me,  heaven,  I  shudder  with  affright; 
I  quake,  I  sink  with  terror  at  the  sight. 

The  Day  of  Judgment,  a  Poem,  a  little  varied. 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  625 

Christians,  try  to  impose  upon  him  with  your  idle  pre- 
tences. Now  despise  his  grace,  laugh  at  his  threatenings, 
and  make  light  of  his  displeasure  if  you  are  able.  Ah ! 
now  their  courage  fails,  and  terror  surrounds  them  like 
armed  men.  Now  they  hide  themselves  in  the  dens,  and 
in  the  rocks  of  the  mountains;  and  say  to  the  mountains 
and  rocks,  Fall  on  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  him  that 
sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb ; 
for  the  Lamb  that  once  bled  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin  now  ap- 
pears in  all  the  terrors  of  a  lion ;  and  the  great  day  of  his 
wrath  is  come,  and  who  shall  be  able  to  stand  1  Rev.  vi. 
15.  Oh !  could  they  hide  themselves  in  the  bottom  of  the 
ocean,  or  in  some  rock  that  bears  the  weight  of  the  moun- 
tains, how  happy  would  they  think  themselves.  But,  alas ! 

"  Seas  cast  the  monsters  forth  to  meet  their  doom, 
And  rocks  but  prison  up  for  wrath  to  come. — YOTTNO. 

While  the  Judge  is  descending,  the  parties  to  be  judged 
will  be  summoned  to  appear.  But  where  are  they  ? 
They  are  all  asleep  in  their  dusty  beds,  except  the  then 
generation.  And  how  shall  they  be  roused  from  their  long 
sleep  of  thousands  of  years?  Why,  "the  Lord  himself 
shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of 
the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God."  1  Thess.  iv.  16. 
The  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  they  that  are  then  alive  shall 
not  pass  into  eternity  through  the  beaten  road  of  death, 
but  at  the  last  trumpet  they  shall  be  changed,  changed  into 
immortals,  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  1  Cor. 
xv.  51,  52.  Now  all  the  millions  of  mankind,  of  whatever 
country  and  nation,  whether  they  expect  this  tremendous 
day  or  not,  all  feel  a  shock  through  their  whole  frames, 
while  they  are  instantaneously  metamorphosed  in  every 
limb,  and  the  pulse  of  immortality  begins  to  beat  strong  in 
every  part.  Now  also  the  slumberers  under  ground  begin 


526  THE    UNIVERSAL   JUDGMENT. 

to  stir,  to  rouse,  and  spring  to  life.  Now  see  graves 
opening,  tombs  bursting,  charnel-houses  rattling,  the  earth 
heaving,  and  all  alive,  while  these  subterranean  armies  are 
bursting  their  way  through.  See  clouds  of  human  dust 
and  broken  bones  darkening  the  air,  and  flying  from  coun- 
try to  country  over  intervening  continents  and  oceans  to 
meet  their  kindred  fragments,  and  repair  the  shattered 
frame  with  pieces  collected  from  a  thousand  different  quar- 
ters, whither  they  were  blown  away  by  winds,  or  washed 
by  waters.  See  what  millions  start  up  in  company  in  the 
spots  where  Ninevah,  Babylon,  Jerusalem,  Rome,  and 
London  once  stood !  Whole  armies  spring  to  life  in  fields 
where  they  once  lost  their  lives  in  battle,  and  were  left 
unburied ;  in  fields  which  fattened  with  their  blood,  pro- 
duced a  thousand  harvests,  and  now  produce  a  crop  of 
men.  See  a  succession  of  thousands  of  years  rising  in 
crowds  from  grave-yards  round  the  places  where  they  once 
attended,  in  order  to  prepare  for  this  decisive  day.  Nay, 
graves  yawn,  and  swarms  burst  into  life  under  palaces 
and  buildings  of  pride  and  pleasure,  in  fields  and  forests, 
in  thousands  of  places  where  graves  were  never  suspected. 
How  are  the  living  surprised  to  find  men  starting  into 
life  under  their  feet,  or  just  beside  them;  some  begin- 
ing  to  stir  and  heave  the  ground;  others  half-risen,  and 
others  quite  disengaged  from  the  incumbrance  of  earth, 
and  standing  upright  before  them  !  What  vast  multitudes 
that  had  slept  in  a  watery  grave,  now  emerge  from  rivers, 
and  seas,  and  oceans,  and  throw  them  into  a  tumult! 
Now  appear  to  the  view  of  all  the  world  the  Goliahs,  the 
Anakims,  and  the  other  giants  of  ancient  times ;  and  now 
the  millions  of  infants,  those  little  particles  of  life,  start  up 
at  once,  perhaps  in  full  maturity,  or  perhaps  in  the  lowest 
"lass  of  mankind,  dwarfs  of  immortality.  The  dead,  small 
und  great,  will  arise  to  stand  before  God;  and  the  sea  shall 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  527 

give  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it.  Rev.  xx.  12, 13.  Now 
the  many  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake, 
some  to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting 
contempt.  Dan.  xii.  2.  Now  the  hour  is  come  when  all  that 
are  in  the  grave  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God, 
and  shall  come  forth ;  they  that  have  done  good,  to  the 
resurrection  of  life  ;  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  to  the 
resurrection  of  damnation.  John  v.  28.  Though  after 
our  skin,  worms  destroy  this  body,  yet  in  our  flesh  shall  we 
see  God,  whom  we  shall  see  for  ourselves;  and  these  eyes 
shall  behold  him,  and  not  another.  Job.  xix.  26,  27.  Then 
this  corruptible  [body]  shall  put  on  incorruption,  and  this 
mortal  shall  put  on  immortality.  1  Cor.  xv.  23. 

As  the  characters,  and  consequently  the  doom  of  man- 
kind, will  be  very  different,  so  we  may  reasonably  suppose 
they  will  rise  in  very  different  forms  of  glory  or  dishonour, 
of  beauty  or  deformity.  Their  bodies  indeed  will  all  be 
improved  to  the  highest  degree,  and  all  made  vigorous, 
capacious,  and  immortal.  But  here  lies  the  difference : 
the  bodies  of  the  righteous  will  be  strengthened  to  bear 
an  exceeding  great  and  eternal  weight  of  glory,  but  those 
of  the  wicked  will  be  strengthened  to  sustain  a  heavier 
load  of  misery ;  their  strength  will  be  but  mere  strength  to 
suffer  a  horrid  capacity  of  greater  pain.  The  immortality 
of  the  righteous  will  be  the  duration  of  their  happiness, 
but  that  of  the  wicked  of  their  misery ;  their  immortality, 
the  highest  privilege  of  their  nature,  will  be  their  heaviest 
curse :  and  they  would  willingly  exchange  their  duration 
with  an  insect  of  a  day,  or  a  fading  flower.  The  bodies 
of  the  righteous  will  "  shine  as  the  sun,  and  as  the  stars  in 
the  firmament  for  ever  and  ever;"  but  those  of  the  wicked 
will  be  grim,  and  shocking,  and  ugly,  and  hateful  as  hell. 
The  bodies  of  the  righteous  will  be  fit  mansions  for  their 
heavenly  spirits  to  inhabit,  and  every  feature  will  speak  the 


528  THE    UINVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

delightful  passions  that  agreeably  work  within;  but  the 
wicked  will  be  but  spirits  of  hell  clothed  in  the  material 
bodies;  and  malice,  rage,  despair,  and  all  the  infernal  pas- 
sions, will  lower  in  their  countenances,  and  cast  a  dismal 
gloom  around  them !  Oh !  they  will  then  be  nothing  else 
but  shapes  of  deformity  and  terror !  they  will  look  like  the 
natives  of  hell,  and  spread  horror  around  them  with  every 
look.* 

With  what  reluctance  may  we  suppose  will  the  souls 
of  the  wicked  enter  again  into  a  state  of  union  with  these 
shocking  forms,  that  will  be  everlasting  engines  of  torture 
to  them,  as  they  once  were  instruments  of  sin  !  But  oh ! 
with  what  joy  will  the  souls  of  the  righteous  return  to  their 
old  habitations,  in  which  they  once  served  their  God  with 
honest  though  feeble  endeavours,  now  so  gloriously  re- 
paired and  improved !  How  will  they  congratulate  the  re- 
surrection of  their  old  companions  from  their  long  sleep 
in  death,  now  made  fit  to  share  with  them  in  the  sublime 
employments  and  fruitions  of  heaven  ?  Every  organ  will 
be  an  instrument  of  service  and  an  inlet  of  pleasure,  and 
the  soul  shall  no  longer  be  encumbered  but  assisted  by  this 
union  to  the  body.  Oh  what  surprising  creatures  can 
Omnipotence  raise  from  the  dust !  To  what  a  high  de- 
gree of  beauty  can  the  Almighty  refine  the  offspring  of  the 
earth  !  and  into  what  miracles  of  glory  and  blessedness  can 
he  form  them  !  t 

*  How  weak,  how  pale,  how  haggard,  how  obscene, 
What  more  than  death  in  every  face  and  mien  ! 
With  what  distress,  and  glarings  of  affright 
They  shock  the  heart,  and  turn  away  the  sight ! 
In  gloomy  orbs  their  trembling  eye-balls  roll, 
And  tell  the  horrid  secrets  of  the  soul. 
Each  gesture  mourns,  each  look  is  black  with  care ; 
And  every  groan  is  loaden  with  despair. — YOUNQ. 

f  Mark,  on  the  right,  how  amiable  a  grace! 
Their  Maker's  image  fresh  in  every  face ! 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  529 

Now  the  Judge  is  come,  the  Judgment-seat  is  erected, 
the  dead  are  raised.  And  what  follows  ?  Why,  the  uni- 
versal convention  of  all  the  sons  of  men  before  the  Judg- 
ment-seat. The  place  of  judgment  will  probably  be  the 
extensive  region  of  the  air,  the  most  capacious  for  the 
reception  of  such  a  multitude ;  for  St.  Paul  tells  us  the 
saint  shall  "be  caught  up  together  in  the  clouds  to  meet 
the  Lord  in  the  air."  1  Thess.  iv.  17.  And  that  the  air 
will  be  the  place  of  judicature,  perhaps,  may  be  intimated 
when  our  Lord  is  represented  as  coming  in  the  clouds,  and 
sitting  upon  a  cloudy  throne.  These  expressions  can  hardly 
be  understood  literally,  for  clouds  which  consisted  of 
vapours  and  rarified  particles  of  water,  seem  very  improper 
materials  for  a  chariot  of  state,  or  a  throne  of  judgment 
but  they  may  very  properly  intimate  that  Christ  will  make 
his  appearance,  and  hold  his  court  in  the  region  of  the 
clouds ;  that  is,  in  the  air ;  and  perhaps  that  the  rays  of  light 
and  majestic  darkness  shall  be  so  blended  around  him  as 
to  form  the  appearance  of  a  cloud  to  the  view  of  the  won- 
dering and  gazing  world. 

To  this  upper  region,  from  whence  our  globe  will  lie 
open  to  view  far  and  wide,  will  all  the  sons  of  men  be 
convened.  And  they  will  be  gathered  together  by  the 
ministry  of  angels,  the  officers  of  this  grand  court.  The 
Son  of  man,  when  he  comes  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with 
power  and  great  glory,  "  shall  send  forth  his  angels  with  a 
great  sound  of  the  trumpet,  and  they  shall  gather  together 
his  elect  from  the  four  winds,  and  from  one  end  of  heaven 
to  the  other."  Matt.  xxiv.  30,  31.  Their  ministry  also 
extends  to  the  wicked,  whom  they  will  drag  away  to 

What  purple  bloom  my  ravish'd  soul  admires, 
And  their  eyes  sparkling  with  immortal  fires ! 
Triumphant  beauty  !  charms  that  rise  above 
This  world,  and  in  blest  angels  kindle  love  ! — 
Oh  !  the  transcendent  glories  of  the  Just ! — YOUNG. 
VOL.  I.— 67 


530  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

judgment  and  execution,  and  separate  from  the  righteous. 
For  "  in  the  end  of  the  world,"  says  Christ,  "  the  Son  of 
man  shall  send  forth  his  angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out 
of  his  kingdom  all  things  that  offend,  and  them  which  do 
iniquity :  and  shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of  fire :  there 
shall  be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth."  Matt.  xiii.  40, 
41,  42. 

What  an  august  convocation,  what  a  vast  assembly  is 
this  !  See  flights  of  angels  darting  round  the  globe  from 
east  to  west,  from  pole  to  pole,  gathering  up  here  and 
there  the  scattered  saints,  choosing  them  out  from  among 
the  crowd  of  the  ungodly,  and  bearing  them  aloft  on  their 
wings  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air !  while  the  wretched 
crowd  look  and  gaze,  and  stretch  their  hands,  and  would 
mount  up  along  with  them ;  but,  alas !  they  must  be  left 
behind,  and  wait  for  another  kind  of  convoy;  a  convoy  of 
cruel,  unrelenting  devils,  who  shall  snatch  them  up  as  their 
prey  with  malignant  joy,  and  place  them  before  the  flaming 
tribunal.  Now  all  the  sons  of  men  meet  in  one  immense 
assembly.  Adam  beholds  the  long  line  of  his  posterity, 
and  they  behold  their  common  father.  Now  Europeans 
and  Asiatics,  the  swarthy  sons  of  Africa  and  the  savages 
of  America,  mingle  together.  Christians,  Jews,  Mahome- 
tans, and  Pagans,  the  learned  and  the  ignorant,  kings  and 
subjects,  rich  and  poor,  free  and  bond,  form  one  promis- 
cuous crowd.  Now  all  the  vast  armies  that  conquered  or 
fell  under  Xerxes,  Darius,  Alexander,  Csesar,  Scipio, 
Tamerlane,  Marlborough,  and  other  illustrious  warriors, 
unite  in  one  vast  army.  There,  in  short,  all  the  successive 
inhabitants  of  the  earth  for  thousands  of  years  appear  in 
one  assembly.  And  how  inconceivably  great  must  the 
number  be  !  When  the  inhabitants  of  but  one  county  are 
met  together,  you  are  struck  with  the  survey.  Were  all 
the  inhabitants  of  a  kingdom  convened  in  one  place,  how 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  531 

much  more  striking  would  be  the  sight !  Were  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  convened  in  one 
general  rendezvous,  how  astonishing  and  vast  would  be  the 
multitude !  But  what  is  even  this  vast  multitude  compared 
with  the  long  succession  of  generations  that  have  peopled 
the  globe,  in  all  ages,  and  in  all  countries,  from  the  first 
commencement  of  time  to  the  last  day !  Here  numbers 
fail,  and  our  thoughts  are  lost  in  the  immense  survey. 
The  extensive  region  of  the  air  is  very  properly  chosen 
as  the  place  of  judgment;  for  this  globe  would  not  be  suf- 
ficient for  such  a  multitude  to  stand  upon.  In  that  pro- 
digious assembly,  my  brethren,  you  and  I  must  mingle. 
And  we  shall  not  be  lost  in  the  crowd,  nor  escape  the 
notice  of  our  Judge ;  but  his  eye  will  be  as  particulary 
fixed  on  every  one  of  us  as  though  there  were  but  one 
before  him. 

To  increase  the  number,  and  add  a  majesty  and  terror, 
to  the  assembly,  the  fallen  angels  also  make  their  appear- 
ance at  the  bar.  This  they  have  long  expected  with 
horror,  as  the  period  when  their  consummate  misery  is  to 
commence.  When  Christ,  in  the  form  of  a  servant,  exer- 
cised a  god-like  power  over  them  in  the  days  of  his  resi- 
dence upon  earth,  they  almost  mistook  his  first  coming  as 
a  Saviour  for  his  second  coming  as  their  Judge;  and 
therefore  they  expostulated,  Art  thou  come  to  torment  us 
before  the  time  ?  Matt.  viii.  29.  That  is  to  say,  We  ex- 
pect thou  wilt  at  last  appear  to  torment  us,  but  we  did  not 
expect  thy  coming  so  soon.  Agreeable  to  this,  St.  Peter 
tells  us,  "  God  spared  not  the  angels  that  sinned,  but  cast 
them  down  to  hell,  and  delivered  them  into  chains  of  dark- 
ness, to  be  reserved  unto  judgment."  2  Peter  ii.  4.  To 
the  same  purpose  St.  Jude  speaks :  "  The  angels  which 
kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  left  their  own  habitation,  he 
hath  reserved  in  everlasting  chains  under  darkness,  unto 


532  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

the  judgment  of  the  great  day."  Jude  6.  What  horribly 
majestic  figures  will  these  be !  and  what  a  dreadful  appear- 
ance will  they  make  at  the  bar!  angels  and  archangels, 
thrones,  and  dominions,  and  principalities,  and  powers 
blasted,  stripped  of  their  primeval  glories,  and  lying  in 
ruins ;  yet  majestic  even  in  ruins,  gigantic  forms  of  terror 
and  deformity ;  great  though  degraded,  horribly  illustrious, 
angels  fallen,  gods  undeified  and  deposed.* 

Now  the  Judge  is  seated,  and  anxious  millions  stand 
before  him  waiting  for  their  doom.  As  yet  there  is  no 
separation  made  between  them ;  but  men  and  devils,  saints 
and  sinners,  are  promiscuously  blended  together.  But 
see !  at  the  order  of  the  Judge,  the  crowd  is  all  in  motion ! 
they  part,  they  sort  together  according  to  their  character, 
and  divide  to  the  right  and  left.  When  all  nations  are 
gathered  before  the  Son  of  man,  himself  has  told  us,  "  He 
shall  separate  them  one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  divid- 
eth  his  sheep  from  the  goats ;  and  he  shall  set  the  sheep 
on  his  right  hand,  but  the  goats  on  the  left."  Matt.  xxv. 
32,  33.  And,  oh!  what  strange  separations  are  now 
made !  what  multitudes  that  once  ranked  themselves  among 
the  saints,  and  were  highly  esteemed  for  their  piety,  by 
others  as  well  as  themselves,  are  now  banished  from  among 
them,  and  placed  with  the  trembling  criminals  on  the  left 
hand !  and  how  many  poor,  honest-hearted,  doubting,  de- 
sponding souls,  whose  foreboding  fears  had  often  placed 
them  there,  now  find  themselves,  to  their  agreeable  sur- 


-The  foe  of  God  and  man 


From  his  dark  den,  blaspheming,  drags  his  chain, 

And  rears  his  blazing  front,  with  thunder  scarred ; 

Eeceives  his  sentence,  and  begins  his  hell. 

All  vengeance  past,  now  seems  abundant  grace ; 

Like  meteors  in  a  stormy  sky,  how  roll 

His  baleful  eyes  !  he  curses  whom  he  dreads, 

And  deems  it  the  first  moment  of  his  fall. — YOUNG. 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  533 

prise,  stationed  on  the  right  hand  of  their  Judge,  who 
smiles  upon  them  !  What  connections  are  now  broken  ! 
what  hearts  torn  assunder!  what  intimate  companions, 
what  dear  relations  parted  for  ever !  neighbour  from  neigh- 
bour, masters  from  servants,  friend  from  friend,  parents 
from  children,  husband  from  wife;  those  who  were  but 
one  flesh,  and  who  lay  in  one  another's  bosoms,  must  part 
for  ever.  Those  that  lived  in  the  same  country,  who  sus- 
tained the  same  denomination,  who  worshipped  in  the 
same  place,  who  lived  under  one  roof,  who  lay  in  the  same 
womb,  and  sucked  the  same  breasts,  must  now  part  for 
ever.  And  is  there  no  separation  likely  to  be  made  then 
in  our  families  or  in  our  congregation  1  Is  it  likely  we 
shall  all  be  placed  in  a  body  upon  the  right  hand  1  Are 
all  the  members  of  our  families  prepared  for  that  glorious 
station  1  Alas !  are  there  not  some  families  among  us 
who,  it  is  to  be  feared,  shall  all  be  sent  off  to  the  left  hand, 
without  so  much  as  one  exception  ?  for  who  are  those 
miserable  multitudes  on  the  left  hand  1  There,  through 
the  medium  of  revelation,  I  see  the  drunkard,  the  swearer, 
the  whoremonger,  the  liar,  the  defrauder,  and  the  various 
classes  of  profane,  profligate  sinners.  There  I  see  the 
unbeliever,  the  impenitent,  the  lukewarm  formalist,  and  the 
various  classes  of  hypocrites,  and  half-Christians.  There 
I  see  the  families  that  call  not  upon  God's  name,  and 
whole  nations  that  forget  him.  And,  oh!  what  vast  mul- 
titudes, what  millions  of  millions  of  millions  do  all  these 
make !  And  do  not  some,  alas  !  do  not  many  of  you  be- 
long to  one  or  other  of  these  classes  of  sinners  whom  God, 
and  Christ,  and  Scripture,  and  conscience  conspire  to  con- 
demn ?  If  so,  to  the  left  hand  you  must  depart  among 
devils  and  trembling  criminals,  whose  guilty  minds  forbode 
their  doom  before  the  jndicial  process  begins.  But  who 
are  those  glorious  immortals  upon  the  right  hand  ?  They 


534  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

are  those  who  have  surrendered  themselves  entirely  to 
God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  who  have  heartily  complied 
with  the  method  of  salvation  revealed  in  the  gospel ;  who 
have  been  formed  new  creatures  by  the  almighty  power 
of  God ;  who  make  it  the  most  earnest,  persevering  en- 
deavour of  their  lives  to  work  out  their  own  salvation,  and 
to  live  righteously,  soberly,  and  godly  in  the  world.  These 
are  some  of  the  principal  lineaments  of  their  character 
who  shall  have  their  safe  and  honourable  station  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  sovereign  Judge.  And  is  not  this  the 
prevailing  character  of  some  of  you  ?  I  hope  and  believe 
it  is.  Through  the  medium  of  Scripture  revelation  then 
I  see  you  in  that  blessed  station.  And,  oh !  I  would  make 
an  appointment  with  you  this  day  to  meet  you  there. 
Yes,  let  us  this  day  appoint  the  time  and  place  where  we 
shall  meet  after  the  separation  and  dispersion  that  death 
will  make  among  us ;  and  let  it  be  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Judge  at  the  last  day.  If  I  be  so  happy  as  to  obtain  some 
humble  place  there,  I  shall  look  out  for  you,  my  dear 
people.  There  I  shall  expect  your  company,  that  we  may 
ascend  together  to  join  in  the  more  exalted  services  and 
enjoyments  of  heaven,  as  we  have  frequently  in  the  hum- 
bler forms  of  worship  in  the  church  on  earth.  But,  oh ! 
when  I  think  what  unexpected  separations  will  then  be 
made,  I  tremble  lest  I  should  miss  some  of  you  there. 
Are  you  not  afraid  lest  you  should  miss  some  of  your 
friends,  or  some  of  your  families  there  ?  or  that  you  should 
then  see  them  move  off  to  the  left  hand,  and  looking  back 
with  eagerness  upon  you,  as  if  they  would  say,  "  This  is 
my  doom  through  your  carelessness ;  had  you  but  acted  a 
faithful  part  towards  me,  while  conversant  with  you  or 
under  your  care,  I  might  now  have  had  my  place  among 
the  saints."  Oh!  how  could  you  bear  such  significant 
piercing  looks  from  a  child,  a  servant,  or  a  friend !  There- 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  535 

fore  now  do  all  in  your  power  to  "  convert  sinners  from 
the  error  of  their  way,  and  to  save  their  souls  from 
death." 

When  we  entered  upon  this  practical  digression,  we  left 
all  things  ready  for  the  judicial  process.  And  now  the  trial 
begins.  Now  "  God  judges  the  secrets  of  men  by  Jesus 
Christ."  Rom.  ii.  16.  All  the  works  of  all  the  sons  of 
men  will  then  be  tried ;  "  For,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  we  must 
all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  that  every 
one  may  receive  the  things  done  in  his  body,  according  to 
that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad."  2  Cor.  v. 
10.  St.  John  in  his  vision  "  saw  the  dead  judged  accord- 
ing to  their  works."  Rev.  xx.  12,  13.  These  works  im- 
mediately refer  to  the  actions  of  the  life,  but  they  may  also 
include  the  inward  temper,  and  thoughts  of  the  soul,  and 
the  words  of  the  lips ;  for  all  these  shall  be  brought  into 
judgment.  "  God,"  says  Solmon,  "  shall  bring  every  work 
into  judgment,  and  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  be  good, 
or  whether  it  be  evil."  Eccl.  xii.  14.  And  though  we  are 
too  apt  to  think  our  words  are  free,  he  that  is  to  be  our 
Judge  has  told  us  that  "  for  every  idle  word  which  men 
speak,  they  shall  give  an  account  in  the  day  of  judgment ; 
for  by  thy  words,"  as  well  as  thy  actions,  "  thou  shalt  be 
justified;  and  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  condemned." 
Matt.  xii.  36,  37. 

What  strange  discoveries  will  this  trial  make?  what 
noble  dispositions  that  never  shone  in  full  beauty  to  mortal 
eyes;  what  generous  purposes  crushed  in  embryo  for 
want  of  power  to  execute  them ;  what  pious  and  noble 
actions  concealed  under  the  veil  of  modesty,  or  miscon- 
strued by  ignorance  and  prejudice ;  what  affectionate 
aspirations,  what  devout  exercises  of  heart,  which  lay  open 
only  to  the  eyes  of  Omniscience,  are  now  brought  to  full 
light,  and  receive  the  approbation  of  the  Supreme  Judge 


536  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

before  the  assembled  universe  ?  But  on  the  other  hand, 
what  works  of  shame  and  darkness,  what  hidden  things  of 
dishonesty,  what  dire  secrets  of  treachery,  hypocrisy,  lewd- 
ness,  and  various  forms  of  wickedness  artfully  and  indus- 
triously concealed  from  human  sight,  what  horrid  exploits 
of  sin  now  burst  to  light  in  all  their  hellish  colours,  to  the 
confusion  of  the  guilty,  and  the  astonishment  and  horror 
of  the  universe  !  Sure  the  history  of  mankind  must  then 
appear  like  the  annals  of  hell,  or  the  biography  of  devils ! 
Then  the  mask  of  dissimulation  will  be  torn  off.  Clouded 
characters  will  clear  up,  and  men  as  well  as  things  will 
appear  in  their  true  light.  Their  hearts  will  be,  as  it  were, 
turned  outwards,  and  all  their  secrets  exposed  to  full  view. 
The  design  of  the  judicial  inquiry  will  not  be  to  inform 
the  omniscient  Judge,  but  to  convince  all  worlds  of  the 
justice  of  his  proceedings;  and  this  design  renders  it 
necessary  that  all  these  things  should  be  laid  open  to  their 
sight,  that  they  may  see  the  grounds  upon  which  he  passes 
sentence.  And  may  not  the  prospect  of  such  a  discovery 
fill  some  of  you  with  horror  ?  for  many  of  your  actions, 
and  especially  of  your  thoughts,  will  not  bear  the  light. 
How  would  it  confound  you,  if  they  were  now  all  pub- 
lished, even  in  the  small  circle  of  your  acquaintance  ? 
How  then  can  you  bear  to  have  them  all  fully  exposed  be- 
fore God,  angels,  and  men !  Will  it  not  confound  you 
with  shame,  and  make  you  objects  of  everlasting  contempt 
to  all  worlds  ? 

These  are  the  facts  to  be  tried.  But  by  what  rule  shall 
they  be  tried?  From  the  goodness  and  justice  of  God 
we  may  conclude  that  men  will  be  judged  by  some  rule 
known  to  them,  or  which  at  least  it  was  in  their  power  to 
know.  Now  the  light  of  reason,  the  law  of  nature,  or 
conscience,  is  a  universal  rule,  and  universally  known,  or  at 
least  knowable  by  all  the  sons  of  men,  heathens  and 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  537 

Mahometans,  as  well  as  Jews  and  Christians :  and  there- 
fore all  mankind  shall  be  judged  by  this  rule.  This  the 
consciences  of  all  now  forebodes ;  "  for  when  the  Gentiles 
which  have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature  the  things  contained 
in  the  law,  these,  not  having  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  them- 
selves, which  show  the  works  of  the  law  written  in  their 
hearts,  their  conscience  also  bearing  witness,  and  their 
thoughts,  the  meanwhile,  accusing  or  else  excusing  one 
another."  Rom.  ii.  14,  15.  By  this  rule  their  consciences 
now  acquit  or  condemn  them,  because  they  know  that  by 
this  rule  they  shall  then  be  judged :  this  seems  to  be  a 
kind  of  innate  presentiment  of  human  nature.  As  the 
heathens  were  invincibly  ignorant  of  every  rule  but  this, 
they  shall  be  judged  by  this  only.  But  as  to  those  parts 
of  the  world  that  enjoyed,  or  might  enjoy  the  advantages 
of  revelation,  whether  by  tradition  with  the  Anti-Mosaic 
world,  or  in  the  writings  of  Moses  and  the  prophets  with 
the  Jews,  or  in  the  clearer  dispensation  of  the  gospel  with 
the  Christian  world,  they  shall  be  judged  by  this  revealed 
law.  And  by  how  much  the  more  perfect  the  rule,  by  so 
much  the  stricter  will  their  account  be.  That  which 
would  be  an  excusable  infirmity  in  an  African  or  an 
American  Indian,  may  be  an  aggravated  crime  in  us  who 
enjoy  such  superior  advantages.  This  is  evident  from  the 
repeated  declarations  of  sacred  writ.  "  As  many  as  have 
sinned  without  law,  (that  is,  without  the  written  law,) 
shall  also  perish  without  law ;  and  as  many  as  have  sinned 
in  the  law  shall  be  judged  by  the  law,  in  the  day  when 
God  shall  judge  the  secrets  of  men  according  to  my  gos- 
pel." Rom.  ii.  12,  16.  "If  I  had  not  come  and  spoken 
unto  them,"  says  the  blessed  Jesus,  "  they  had  not  had  sin  ;" 
that  is,  they  would  not  have  had  sin  so  aggravated,  or  they 
would  not  have  had  the  particular  sin  of  unbelief  in  reject- 
ing the  Messiah :  but  now  they  have  no  cloak  for  their  sin, 

VOL.  I.— 68 


538  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

John  xv.  22  ;  that  is,  now  when  they  have  had  such  abun- 
dant conviction,  they  are  utterly  inexcusable.  "This," 
says  he,  "is  the  condemnation;"  that  is,  this  is  the  occa- 
sion of  the  most  aggravated  condemnation ;  "  that  light  is 
come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than 
light,  because  their  deeds  were  evil."  John  iii.  19.  "That 
servant  which  knew  his  Lord's  will,  and  prepared  not  him- 
self, neither  did  according  to  his  will,  shall  be  beaten  with 
many  stripes;  but  he  that  knew  not,  and  did  commit 
things  worthy  of  stripes,  (observe,  ignorance  is  no  suffi- 
cient excuse,  except  when  invincible,)  shall  be  beaten  with 
few  stripes;  for  unto  whomsoever  much  is  given,  of  him 
shall  be  much  required."  Luke  xii.  47,  48.  Upon  these 
maxims  of  eternal  righteousness,  the  Judge  will  proceed  in 
pronouncing  the  doom  of  the  world;  and  it  was  upon 
these  principles  he  declared,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  "  that 
it  should  be  more  tolerable  in  the  day  of  judgment  for 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  for  Tyre  and  Sidon,"  than  for  those 
places  that  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  his  ministry,  and 
misimproved  it.  Matt.  xi.  21,  24.  Whether  upon  these 
principles  sinners  among  us  have  not  reason  to  expect 
they  will  obtain  a  horrid  precedence  among  the  million  of 
sinners  in  that  day,  I  leave  you  to  judge,  and  to  tremble 
at  the  thought. 

There  is  another  representation  of  this  proceeding, 
which  we  often  meet  with  in  the  sacred  writings,  in  al- 
lusion to  the  forms  of  proceedings  in  human  courts.  In 
courts  of  law,  law-books  are  referred  to,  opened,  and  read 
for  the  direction  of  the  judges,  and  sentence  is  passed  ac- 
cording to  them.  In  allusion  to  this  custom,  Daniel,  in 
vision,  saw  the  judgment  was  set,  and  the  books  were 
opened  :  Dan.  vii.  10.  And  St.  John  had  the  same  rep- 
resentation made  to  him :  "  I  saw  the  dead,"  says  he, 
"  small  and  great,  stand  before  God,  and  the  books  were 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  539 

opened ;  and  another  book  was  opened,  which  is  the  book 
of  life ;  and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  the  things  which 
were  written  in  the  books,  according  to  their  works :  Rev. 
xx.  12. 

Should  we  pursue  this  significant  allusion,  we  may  say, 
then  will  be  opened  the  book  of  the  law  of  nature ;  and 
mankind  will  be  tried  according  to  its  precepts,  and 
doomed  according  to  its  sentence.  This  is  a  plain  and 
vast  volume,  opened  and  legible  now  to  all  that  can  read 
their  own  hearts;  that  have  eyes  to  look  round  upon  the 
works  of  God,  which  show  his  glory  and  their  duty ;  and 
who  have  ears  to  hear  the  lectures  which  the  sun  and 
moon,  and  all  the  works  of  creation,  read  to  them  night 
and  day.  Then,  too,  will  be  opened  the  book  of  Scrip- 
ture-revelation, in  all  its  parts,  both  the  law  of  Moses  and 
the  gospel  of  Christ ;  and  according  to  it  will  those  be 
judged  who  lived  under  one  or  other  of  these  dispensa- 
tions. Then  it  will  appear  that  that  neglected,  old-fash- 
ioned book  called  the  Bible  is  not  a  romance,  or  a  system 
of  trifling  truths,  but  the  standard  of  life  and  death  to  all 
who  had  access  to  it.  Then  will  also  be  opened  the  book 
of  God's  remembrance.  In  that  are  recorded  all  the 
thoughts,  words,  actions,  both  good  and  bad,  of  all  the  sons 
of  men :  and  now  the  immense  account  shall  be  publicly 
read  before  the  assembled  universe.  Then,  likewise,  as  a 
counterpart  to  this,  will  be  opened  the  book  of  conscience ; 
conscience  which,  though  unnoticed,  writes  our  whole 
history  as  with  an  iron  pen  and  the  point  of  a  diamond.* 

*  0  treacherous  Conscience !  while  she  seems  to  sleep 
On  rose  and  myrtle,  lull'd  with  Syren  song ; 
While  she  seems,  nodding  o'er  her  charge,  to  drop 
On  headlong  appetite  the  slacken 'd  reign, 
And  give  us  up  to  license  unrecall'd, 
Unmark'd — as  from  behind  her  secret  stand 
The  sly  informer  minutes  every  fault, 


5  10  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

Then,  also,  we  are  expressly  told,  will  be  opened  the  book 
of  life  :  Rev.  xx.  12,  in  which  are  contained  all  the  names 
of  all  the  heirs  of  heaven.  This  seems  to  be  an  allusion 
to  those  registers  which  are  kept  in  cities  or  corporations, 
of  the  names  of  all  the  citizens  or  members  who  have  a 
right  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  society.  And  I  know  not 
what  we  can  understand  by  it  so  properly  as  the  perfect 
knowledge  which  the  omniscient  God  has,  and  always  had 
from  eternity,  of  those  on  whom  he  purposed  to  bestow 
eternal  life,  and  whom  he  has  from  eternity,  as  it  were, 
registered  as  members  of  the  general  assembly  and  church 
of  the  first-born,  who  are  written  in  heaven,  or  as  denizens 
of  that  blessed  city.  These,  having  been  all  prepared  by 
his  grace  in  time,  shall  be  admitted  into  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem in  that  day  of  the  Lord. 

Farther,  the  representation  which  the  Scripture  gives  us 
of  the  proceedings  of  that  day  leads  us  to  conceive  of  wit- 
nesses being  produced  to  prove  the  facts.  The  omniscient 
Judge  will  be  a  witness  against  the  guilty.  "  I  will  come 
near  to  you  to  judgment,  and  I  will  be  a  swift  witness  against 
the  sorcerers,  and  against  the  adulterers,  and  against  false 
swearers,  and  against  those  that  oppress,  and  hear  not  me, 
saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts :"  Mai.  iii.  5.  And  he  will,  no 
doubt,  be  a  witness  for  his  people,  and  attest  their  sincere 
piety,  their  interest  in  Christ,  and  those  good  dispositions 
or  actions  which  were  known  only  to  him. 

And  her  dread  diary  with  horror  fills — 

Unnoted  notes  each  moment  misapply'd, 

In  leaves  more  durable  than  leaves  of  brass, 

Writes  our  whole  history  ;  which  Death  shall  read 

In  every  pale  offender's  private  ear  ; 

And  Judgment  publish,  publish  to  more  worlds 

Than  this  and  endless  age  in  groans  resound. 

Such,  sinner,  is  that  sleeper  in  thy  breast ; 

Such  is  her  slumber  ;  and  her  vengeance  such 

For  slighted  counsel. YOUNG. 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  541 

Angels,  also,  that  ministered  to  the  heirs  of  salvation, 
and  no  doubt  inspected  the  affairs  of  mankind,  will  be  wit- 
nesses. Devils  too,  who  once  tempted,  will  now  become 
accusers.  Conscience  within  will  also  be  a  witness !  it 
shall  acquit  the  righteous  of  many  unjust  imputations,  and 
attest  the  sincerity  of  their  hearts  and  their  many  good 
actions.  But  oh !  it  will  be  the  most  terrible  witness 
against  the  ungodly !  They  will  be  witnesses  against 
themselves,  (Josh.  xxiv.  22,)  and  this  will  render  them  self- 
tormentors.  Conscience  will  re-echo  to  the  voice  of  the 
Judge,  and  cry,  Guilty,  guilty,  to  all  his  accusations.  And 
who  can  make  the  wicked  happy  when  they  torment  them- 
selves? Who  can  acquit  them  when  they  are  self-con- 
demned? Conscience,  whose  evidence  is  now  so  often 
suppressed  will  then  have  full  scope,  and  shall  be  regarded. 
Whom  conscience  condemns  the  righteous  Judge  will  also 
condemn ;  for,  "  if  our  hearts  condemn  us,  God  is  greater 
than  our  hearts,  and  knoweth  all  things,"  1  John  iii.  20, 
knoweth  many  more  grounds  for  condemning  us  than  we, 
and  therefore  much  more  will  he  condemn  us.  In  short, 
so  full  will  be  the  evidence  against  the  sinner,  that  the 
Scripture  which  is  full  of  striking  imagery  to  affect  human 
nature,  gives  life  to  inanimated  things  upon  this  occasion, 
and  represents  them  as  speaking.  Stones  and  dust  shall 
witness  against  the  ungodly.  The  dust  under  the  feet  of 
their  ministers  shall  witness  against  them:  Matt.  x.  14. 
"  The  stone  shall  cry  out  of  the  wall,  and  the  beam  out  of 
the  timber  shall  answer  it."  Heb.  ii.  11.  The  rust  of  their 
gold  and  silver  shall  be  a  witness  against  them,  and  shall 
eat  their  flesh  as  it  were  fire.  James  v.  3.  Nay,  the  hea- 
vens shall  reveal  their  iniquity,  and  the  earth  shall  rise  up 
against  them.  Job  xx.  27.  Heaven  and  earth  were  called 
to  witness  that  life  and  death  were  set  before  them,  Deut. 
xxx.  1 9,  and  now  they  will  give  in  their  evidence  that  they 


542  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

chose  death.  Thus  God  and  all  his  creatures,  heaven, 
earth,  and  hell,  rise  up  against  them,  accuse  and  condemn 
them.  And  will  not  sinners  accuse  and  witness  against 
one  another?  Undoubtedly  they  will.  They  who  lived 
or  conversed  together  upon  earth,  and  were  spectators  of 
each  other's  conduct,  will  then  turn  mutual  witnesses 
against  each  other.  Oh,  tremendous  thought !  that  friend 
should  inform  and  witness  against  friend ;  parents  against 
children,  and  children  against  parents;  ministers  against 
their  people,  and  people  against  their  ministers ;  alas !  what 
a  confounding  testimony  against  each  other  must  those 
give  in  who  are  now  sinning  together ! 

Thus  the  way  is  prepared  for  the  passing  sentence. 
The  case  was  always  clear  to  the  omniscient  Judge,  but 
now  it  is  so  fully  discussed  and  attested  by  so  many  evi- 
dences, that  it  is  quite  plain  to  the  whole  world  of  crea- 
tures, who  can  judge  only  by  such  evidence,  and  for  whose 
conviction  the  formality  of  a  judicial  process  is  appointed. 
How  long  a  time  this  grand  court  will  sit,  we  cannot  de- 
termine, nor  has  God  thought  fit  to  inform  us ;  but  when 
we  consider  how  particular  the  trial  will  be,  and  the  innu- 
merable multitude  to  be  tried,  it  seems  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose it  will  be  a  long  session.  It  is  indeed  often  called  a 
day ;  but  it  is  evident  a  day  in  such  cases  does  not  signify 
a  natural  day,  but  the  space  of  time  allotted  for  transacting 
a  business,  though  it  be  a  hundred  or  even  a  thousand 
years.  Creatures  are  incapable  of  viewing  all  things  at 
once,  and  therefore,  since  the  trial,  as  I  observed,  is  in- 
tended to  convince  them  of  the  equity  of  the  divine  pro- 
ceedings, it  is  proper  the  proceedings  should  be  particular 
and  leisurely,  that  they  may  have  time  to  observe  them. 

We  are  now  come  to  the  grand  crisis,  upon  which  the 
eternal  states  of  all  mankind  turn ;  I  mean  the  passing  the 
great  decisive  sentence.  Heaven  and  earth  are  all  silence 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  543 

and  attention,  \vhile  the  Judge,  with  smiles  in  his  face, 
and  a  voice  sweeter  than  heavenly  music,  turns  to  the  glo- 
rious company  on  his  right  hand,  and  pours  all  the  joys  of 
heaven  into  their  souls,  in  that  transporting  sentence,  of 
which  he  has  graciously  left  us  a  copy;  Come,  ye  blessed 
of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world.  Every  word  is  full  of  em- 
phasis, full  of  heaven,  and  exactly  agreeable  to  the  desires 
of  those  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  They  desired,  and 
longed,  and  languished  to  be  near  their  Lord;  and  now 
their  Lord  invites  them,  Come  near  me,  and  dwell  with 
me  for  ever.  There  was  nothing  they  desired  so  much  as 
the  blessing  of  God,  nothing  they  feared  so  much  as  his 
curse,  and  now  their  fears  are  entirely  removed,  and  their 
designs  fully  accomplished,  for  the  supreme  Judge  pro- 
nounces them  blessed  of  his  Father.  They  were  all  poor 
in  spirit,  most  of  them  poor  in  this  world,  and  all  sensible 
of  their  unworthiness.  How  agreeably  then  are  they  sur- 
prised, to  hear  themselves  invited  to  a  kingdom,  invited  to 
inherit  a  kingdom,  as  princes  of  the  blood-royal,  born  to 
thrones  and  crowns !  How  will  they  be  lost  in  wonder, 
joy,  and  praise,  to  find  that  the  great  God  entertained 
thoughts  of  love  towards  them,  before  they  had  a  being, 
or  the  world  in  which  they  dwelt  had  its  foundation  laid, 
and  that  he  was  preparing  a  kingdom  for  them  while  they 
were  nothing,  unknown  even  in  idea,  except  to  himself? 
O  brethren !  dare  any  of  us  expect  this  sentence  will  be 
passed  upon  us?  Methinks  the  very  thought  overwhelms 
us.  Methinks  our  feeble  frames  must  be  unable  to  bear 
up  under  the  extatic  hope  of  so  sweetly  oppressive  a 
blessedness.  Oh  !  if  this  be  our  sentence  in  that  day,  it  is 
no  matter  what  we  suffer  in  the  intermediate  space ;  that 
sentence  would  compensate  for  all,  and  annihilate  the  suf- 
ferings of  ten  thousand  years. 


544  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

But  hark !  another  sentence  breaks  from  the  mouth  of 
the  angry  Judge,  like  vengeful  thunder.  Nature  gives  a 
deep  tremendous  groan;  the  heavens  lower  and  gather 
blackness,  the  earth  trembles,  and  guilty  millions  sink  with 
horror  at  the  sound !  And  see,  he  whose  words  are  works, 
whose  fiat  produces  worlds  out  of  nothing ;  he  who  could 
remand  ten  thousand  worlds,  into  nothing  at  a  frown ;  he 
whose  thunder  quelled  the  insurrection  of  rebel  angels  in 
heaven,  and  hurled  them  headlong  down,  down,  down,  to 
the  dungeon  of  hell ;  see,  he  turns  to  the  guilty  crowd  on 
his  left  hand ;  his  angry  countenance  discovers  the  right- 
eous indignation  that  glows  in  his  breast.  His  counte- 
nance bespeaks  him  inexorable,  and  that  there  is  now  no 
room  for  prayers  and  tears.  Now,  the  sweet,  mild,  media- 
torial hour  is  past,  and  nothing  appears  but  the  majesty 
and  terror  of  the  judge.  Horror  and  darkness  frown  upon 
his  brow,  and  vindictive  lightnings  flash  from  his  eyes. 
And  now,  (Oh !  who  can  bear  the  sound !)  he  speaks, 
"  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire  prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels !"  Oh !  the  cutting  emphasis 
of  every  word !  Depart !  depart  from  me ;  from  me,  the 
Author  of  all  good,  the  Fountain  of  all  good,  the  Fountain 
of  all  happiness.  Depart,  with  all  my  heavy,  all-consum- 
ing curse  upon  you!  Depart  into  fire,  into  everlasting, 
fire,  prepared,  furnished  with  fuel,  and  blown  up  into  rage, 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels,  once  your  com- 
panions in  sin,  and  now  the  companions  and  executioners 
of  your  punishment! 

Now  the  grand  period  is  arrived  in  which  the  final, 
everlasting  states  of  mankind  are  unchangeably  settled. 
From  this  all-important  era  their  happiness  or  misery  runs 
on  in  one  uniform,  uninterrupted  tenor;  no  change,  no 
gradation,  but  from  glory  to  glory,  in  the  scale  of  perfection, 
or  from  gulf  to  gulf  in  hell.  This  is  the  day  in  which  all 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  545 

the  schemes  of  Providence,  carried  on  for  thousands  of 
years,  terminate. 

"  Great  day  !  for  which  all  other  days  were  made  : 
For  which  earth  rose  from  chaos :  man  from  earth : 
And  an  eternity,  the  date  of  gods, 
Descended  on  poor  earth-created  man !" — YOUNG. 

Time  was ;  but  it  is  no  more !  Now  aH  the  sons  of 
men  enter  upon  a  duration  not  to  be  measured  by  the  revo- 
lutions of  the  sun,  nor  by  days,  and  months,  and  years. 
Now  eternity  dawns,  a  day  that  shall  never  see  an  evening. 
And  this  terribly  illustrious  morning  is  solemnized  with  the 
execution  of  the  sentence.  No  sooner  is  it  passed  than 
immediately  the  wicked  "go  away  into  everlasting  pun 
ishment,  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal."  Matt.  xxv. 
46.  See  the  astonished,  thunder-struck  multitude  on  the 
left  hand,  with  sullen  horror,  and  grief,  and  despair  in  their 
looks,  writhing  with  agony,  crying  and  wringing  their 
hands,  and  glancing  a  wishful  eye  towards  that  heaven 
which  they  lost :  dragged  away  by  devils  to  the  place  of 
execution!  See,  hell  expands  her  voracious  jaws,  and 
swallows  them  up!  and  now  an  eternal  farewell  to  earth 
and  all  its  enjoyments!  Farewell  to  the  cheerful  light 
of  heaven !  Farewell  to  hope,  that  sweet  relief  of  afflic- 
tion! 


-"  Farewell,  happy  fields, 


"Where  joy  for  ever  dwells  !     Hail,  horrors  !  hail, 
Infernal  world  !  and  thou,  profoundest  hell, 
Receive  thy  new  possessors  !" — MILTON. 

Heaven  frowns  upon  them  from  above,  the  horrors  of  hell 
spread  far  and  wide  around  them,  and  conscience  within 
preys  upon  their  hearts.  Conscience!  O  thou  abused, 
exasperated  power,  that  now  sleepest  in  so  many  breasts ! 
what  severe,  ample  revenge  wilt  thou  then  take  upon 

VOL.  I.— 69 


546  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

those  that  now  dare  to  do  thee  violence!  Oh  the  dire 
reflections  which  memory  will  then  suggest !  the  remem- 
brance of  mercies  abused  !  of  a  Saviour  slighted!  of  means 
and  opportunities  of  salvation  neglected  and  lost!  this 
remembrance  will  sting  the  heart  like  a  scorpion.  But 
O  eternity!  eternity!  with  what  horror  will  thy  name 
circulate  through  the  vaults  of  hell !  eternity  in  misery ! 
no  end  to  pain!  no  hope  of  an  end!  Oh  this  is  the  hell 
of  hell !  this  is  the  parent  of  despair !  despair  the  direst 
ingredient  of  misery,  the  most  tormenting  passion  which 
devils  feel.  But  let  us  view  a  more  delightful  and  illus- 
trious scene. 

See  the  bright  and  triumphant  army  marching  up  to 
their  eternal  home,  under  the  conduct  of  the  Captain  of 
their  salvation,  where  they  shall  ever  be  with  the  Lord,  1 
Thess.  iv.  17,  as  happy  as  their  nature  in  its  highest  im- 
provements is  capable  of  being  made.  With  what  shouts 
of  joy  and  triumph  do  they  ascend !  with  what  sublime 
hallelujahs  do  they  crown  their  Deliverer!  with  what 
wonder  and  joy,  with  what  pleasing  horror,  like  one  that 
has  narrowly  escaped  some  tremendous  precipice,  do  they 
look  back  upon  what  they  once  were  !  once  mean,  guilty, 
depraved,  condemned  sinners !  afterward  imperfect,  broken- 
hearted, sighing,  weeping  saints !  but  now  innocent,  holy, 
happy,  glorious  immortals ! 

"  Are  these  the  forms  that  mouldered  in  the  dust? 
Oh  the  transcendent  glories  of  the  just!" — YoTJKG. 

Now  with  what  pleasure  and  rapture  do  they  look  for- 
ward through  the  long,  long  prospect  of  immortality,  and 
call  it  their  own !  the  duration  not  only  of  their  existence, 
but  of  their  happiness  and  glory!  Oh  shall  any  of  us 
share  in  this  immensely  valuable  privilege !  how  immensely 
transporting  the  thought ! 


THE   UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  547 

"  Shall  we,  who  some  few  years  ngo  were  less 
Than  worm,  or  mite,  or  shadow  can  express; 
Were  nothing;  shall  we  live,  when  every  fire 
Of  every  star  shall  languish  or  expire  ? 
When  earth's  no  more,  shall  we  survive  above, 
And  through  the  shining  ranks  of  angels  move  ? 
Or,  as  before  the  throne  of  God  we  stand, 
See  new  worlds  rolling  from  his  mighty  hand  ? — 
All  that  has  being  in  full  concert  join, 
And  celebrate  the  depths  of  love  divine!" — YOUNG. 

Oh  what  exploits,  what  miracles  of  power  and  grace, 
are  these  !  But  why  do  I  darken  such  splendours  with 
words  without  knowledge?  the  language  of  mortals  was 
formed  for  lower  descriptions.  "  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor 
ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the 
things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him." 
1  Cor.  ii.  9. 

And  now  when  the  inhabitants  of  our  world,  for  whose 
sake  it  was  formed,  are  all  removed  to  other  regions,  and 
it  is  left  a  wide  extended  desert,  what  remains,  but  that  it 
also  meet  its  fate  ?  It  is  fit  so  guilty  a  globe,  that  had 
been  the  stage  of  sin  for  so  many  thousands  of  years,  and 
which  even  supported  the  cross  on  which  its  Maker  expired, 
should  be  made  a  monument  of  the  divine  displeasure,  and 
either  be  laid  in  ruins,  or  refined  by  fire.  And  see !  the 
universal  blaze  begins !  the  heavens  pass  away  with  a  great 
noise ;  the  elements  melt  with  fervent  heat ;  the  earth  also 
and  the  works  that  are  therein  are  burnt  up.  2  Pet.  iii.  10. 
Now  stars  rush  from  their  orbits ;  comets  glare ;  the  earth 
trembles  with  convulsions;  the  Alps,  the  Andes,  and  all 
the  lofty  peaks  or  long  extended  ridges  of  mountains  burst 
out  into  so  many  burning  Jlltnas,  or  thunder,  and  lighten, 
and  smoke,  and  flame,  and  quake  like  Sinai,  when  God 
descended  upon  it  to  publish  his  fiery  law !  Rocks  melt 
and  run  down  in  torrents  of  flame;  rivers,  lakes,  and 
oceans  boil  and  evaporate.  Sheets  of  fire  and  pillars  of 


548  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

smoke,  outrageous  and  insufferable  thunders  and  lightnings 
burst,  and  bellow,  and  blaze,  and  involve  the  atmosphere 
from  pole  to  pole.*  The  whole  globe  is  now  dissolved 
into  a  shoreless  ocean  of  liquid  fire.  And  where  now 
shall  we  find  the  places  where  cities  stood,  where  armies 
fought,  where  mountains  stretched  their  ridges,  and  reared 
their  heads  on  high?  Alas!  they  are  all  lost,  and  have 
left  no  trace  behind  them  where  they  once  stood.  Where 
art  thou,  oh  my  country?  Sunk  with  the  rest  as  a  drop 
into  the  burning  ocean.  Where  now  are  your  houses, 
your  lands,  and  those  earthly  possessions  you  were  once 
so  fond  of?  They  are  nowhere  to  be  found.  How  sorry 
a  portion  for  an  immortal  mind  is  such  a  dying  world  as 
this!  And,  oh! 

11  How  rich  that  God  who  can  such  charge  defray, 
And  bear  to  fling  ten  thousand  worlds  away !" — YOUNG. 

Thus,  my  brethren,  I  have  given  you  a  view  of  the 
solemnities  of  the  last  day  which  our  world  shall  see. 
The  view  has  indeed  been  but  very  faint  and  obscure : 
and  such  will  be  all  our  views  and  descriptions  of  it,  till 
our  eyes  and  our  ears  teach  us  better.  Through  these 
avenues  you  will  at  length  receive  your  instructions. 
Yes,  brethren,  those  ears  that  now  hear  my  voice  shall 
hear  the  all-alarming  clangor  of  the  last  trumpet,  the 
decisive  sentence  from  the  mouth  of  the  universal  Judge, 
and  the  horrid  crash  of  falling  worlds.  These  very  eyes 
with  which  you  now  see  one  another,  shall  yet  see  the 
descending  Judge,  the  assembled  multitudes,  and  all  the 
majestic  phenomena  of  that  day.  And  we  shall  not  see 

*  "  See  all  the  formidable  sons  of  fire, 

Eruptions,  earthquakes,  comets,  lightnings  play 
Their  various  engines  ;  all  at  once  discharge 
Their  blazing  magazines  ;  and  take  by  storm 
This  poor  terrestrial  citadel  of  man." — YOUNG. 


THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT.  549 

them  as  indifferent  spectators;  no,  we  are  as  much  con- 
cerned in  this  great  transaction  as  any  of  the  children  of 
men.  We  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat,  and 
receive  our  sentence  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the 
body.  And  if  so,  what  are  we  doing  that  we  are  not  more 
diligently  preparing?  Why  does  not  the  prospect  affect 
us  more?  Why  does  it  not  transport  the  righteous  with 
joy  unspeakable,  and  full  of  glory  ?  1  Peter  i.  8.  And 
why  are  not  the  sinners  in  Zion  afraid  ?  Why  does  not 
fearfulness  surprise  the  hypocrites?  Isa.  xxxiii.  14.  Can 
one  of  you  be  careless  from  this  hour  till  you  are  in 
readiness  for  that  tremendous  day? 

What!  do  the  sinners  among  you  now  think  of  repent- 
ance ?  Repentance  is  the  grand  preparative  for  this  awful 
day;  and  the  apostle,  as  I  observed,  mentions  the  final 
judgment  in  my  text  as  a  powerful  motive  to  repentance. 
And  what  will  criminals  think  of  repentance  when  they  see 
the  Judge  ascend  his  throne  ?  Come,  sinners,  look  for- 
ward and  see  the  flaming  tribunal  erected,  your  .crimes 
exposed,  your  doom  pronounced,  and  your  hell  begun ;  see 
a  whole  world  demolished,  and  ravaged  by  boundless  con- 
flagration for  your  sins !  With  these  objects  before  you,  I 
call  you  to  repent !  I  call  you !  I  retract  the  words : 
God,  the  great  God,  whom  heaven  and  earth  obey,  com- 
mands you  to  repent.  Whatever  be  your  characters, 
whether  rich  or  poor,  old  or  young,  white  or  black, 
wherever  you  sit  or  stand,  this  command  reaches  you ; 
for  God  now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent. 
You  are  this  day  firmly  bound  to  this  duty  by  his  autho- 
rity. And  dare  you  disobey  with  the  prospect  of  all  the 
awful  solemnities  of  judgment  before  you  in  so  near  a 
view  ?  Oh !  methinks  I  have  now  brought  you  into  such 
a  situation,  that  the  often-repeated  but  hitherto  neglected 
call  to  repentance  will  be  regarded  by  you.  Repent  you 


550  THE    UNIVERSAL    JUDGMENT. 

must,  either  upon  earth  or  in  hell.  You  must  either  spend 
your  time  or  your  eternity  in  repentance.  It  is  absolutely 
unavoidable.  Putting  it  off  now  does  not  remove  the 
necessity,  but  will  only  render  it  the  more  bitter  and  severe 
hereafter.  Which  then  do  you  choose?  the  tolerable, 
hopeful  medicinal  repentance  of  the  present  life,  or  the 
intolerable,  unprofitable,  despairing  repentance  of  hell? 
Will  you  choose  to  spend  time  or  eternity  in  this  melan- 
choly exercise  ?  Oh !  make  the  choice  which  God,  which 
reason,  which  self-interest,  which  common  sense  recom- 
mend to  you.  Now  repent  at  the  command  of  God,  became 
he  hath  appointed  a  day  in  which  he  will  judge  the  world 
in  righteousness,  by  that  Man  whom  he  hath  ordained,  of 
which  he  hath  given  you  all  full  assurance  in  that  he 
raised  him  from  the  dead.  AMEN. 


THE   ONE    THING    NEEDFUL.  551 


SERMON  XXI. 

THE   ONE    THING    NEEDFUL.* 

LUKE  x.  41,  42. — And  Jesus  answered,  and  said  unto  her, 
Martha,  Martha,  thou  art  careful,  and  troubled  about 
many  things  :  but  one  thing  is  needful ;  and  Mary  hath 
chosen  that  good  part,  which  shall  not  be  taken  away 
from  her. 

FOR  what  are  we  placed  in  this  world  ?  Is  it  to  dwell 
here  always  1  You  cannot  think  so,  when  the  millions  of 
mankind  that  have  appeared  upon  the  stage  of  time  are  so 
many  instances  of  the  contrary.  The  true  notion  there- 
fore of  the  present  state  is,  that  it  is  a  state  of  preparation 
and  trial  for  the  eternal  world ;  a  state  of  education  for  our 
adult  age.  As  children  are  sent  to  school,  and  youth 
bound  out  to  trades,  to  prepare  them  for  business,  and 
qualify  them  to  live  in  the  world,  so  we  are  placed  here  to 
prepare  us  for  the  grand  business  of  immortality,  the  state 
of  our  maturity,  and  to  qualify  us  to  live  for  ever.  And 
is  there  a  heaven  of  the  most  perfect  happiness,  and  a  hell 
of  the  most  exquisite  misery,  just  before  us,  perhaps  not  a 
year  or  even  a  day  distant  from  us  ?  And  is  it  the  great 
design,  the  business  and  duty  of  the  present  state,  to  obtain 

*  A  gentleman  who  heard  this  sermon  delivered,  told  Dr.  Archibald 
Alexander,  many  years  afterward,  that  "  the  mere  enunciation  of  the  text 
produced  a  greater  effect  upon  him  than  any  sermon  he  had  ever  heard,  so 
commanding  was  the  personal  appearance  of  Mr.  Davies,  and  so  solemn 
and  impressive  was  his  utterance  " 

[EDITOR  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION.] 


552  THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL. 

the  one  and  escape  the  other  ?  Then  what  are  we  doing  I 
What  is  the  world  doing  all  around  us  ?  Are  they  acting 
as  it  becomes  candidates  for  eternity  ?  Are  they  indeed 
making  that  the  principal  object  of  their  most  zealous  en- 
deavours, which  is  the  grand  design,  business  and  duty  of 
the  present  state  1  Are  they  minding  this  at  all  adventures, 
whatever  else  they  neglect  1  This  is  what  we  might  ex- 
pect from  them  as  reasonable  creatures  that  love  them- 
selves, and  have  a  strong  innate  desire  of  happiness.  This 
a  stranger  to  our  world  might  charitably  presume  concern- 
ing them.  But,  alas !  look  upon  the  conduct  of  the  world 
around  you,  or  look  nearer  home,  and  where  you  are  more 
nearly  interested,  upon  your  own  conduct,  and  you  will 
see  this  is  not  generally  the  case.  No ;  instead  of  pursu- 
ing the  one  thing  needful,  the  world  is  all  in  motion,  all 
bustle  and  hurry,  like  ants  upon  a  mole-hill,  about  other 
affairs.  They  are  in  a  still  higher  degree  than  officious 
Martha,  careful  and  troubled  about  many  things.  Now  to 
recall  you  from  this  endless  variety  of  vain  pursuits,  and 
direct  your  endeavours  to  the  proper  object,  I  can  think 
of  no  better  expedient  than  to  explain  and  inculcate  upon 
you  the  admonition  of  Christ  to  Martha,  and  his  commen- 
dation of  Mary  upon  this  head. 

Martha  was  the  head  of  a  little  family,  probably  a  widow 
in  a  village  near  Jerusalem,  called  Bethany.  Her  brother 
and  sister,  Lazarus  and  Mary,  lived  along  with  her.  And 
what  is  remarkable  concerning  this  little  family  is,  that 
they  were  all  lovers  of  Jesus :  and  their  love  was  not  with- 
out return  on  his  side;  for  we  are  expressly  told  that 
Jesus  loved  Martha,  and  her  sister,  and  Lazarus.  What 
a  happy  family  is  this !  but  oh  how  rare  in  the  world ! 
This  was  a  convenient  place  of  retirement  to  Jesus,  after 
the  labours  and  fatigues  of  his  ministry  in  the  city,  and 
here  we  often  find  him.  Though  spent  and  exhausted 


THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL.  553 

with  his  public  services,  yet  when  he  gets  into  the  circle 
of  a  few  friends  in  a  private  house,  he  cannot  be  idle ;  he 
still  instructs  them  with  his  heavenly  discourse;  and  his 
conversation  is  a  constant  sermon.  Mary,  who  was  pas- 
sionately devout,  and  eager  for  instruction,  would  not  let 
such  a  rare  opportunity  slip,  but  sits  down  at  the  feet  of 
this  great  Teacher,  which  was  the  posture  of  the  Jewish 
pupils  before  their  masters,*  and  eagerly  catches  every 
word  from  his  lips;  from  which  dropped  knowledge 
sweeter  than  honey  from  the  honey-comb.  Though  she 
is  solicitous  for  the  comfort  of  her  heavenly  guest,  yet  she 
makes  no  great  stir  to  provide  for  him  an  elegant  or  sump- 
tuous entertainment ;  for  she  knew  his  happiness  did  not 
consist  in  luxurious  eating  and  drinking :  it  was  his  meat 
and  his  drink  to  do  the  will  of  his  Father  ;  and  as  the  sus- 
tenance of  his  body,  plain  food  was  most  acceptable  to 
him.  He  was  not  willing  that  any  should  lose  their  souls 
by  losing  opportunities  of  instruction,  while  they  were 
making  sumptuous  provision  for  him.  Mary  was  also  so 
deeply  engaged  about  her  salvation,  that  she  was  nobly 
careless  about  the  little  decencies  of  entertainments.  The 
body  and  all  its  supports  and  gratifications  appeared  of  very 
small  importance  to  her  when  compared  with  the  immor- 
tal soul.  Oh !  if  that  be  but  fed  with  the  words  of  eternal 
life,  it  is  enough.  All  this  she  did  with  Christ's  warm  ap- 
probation, and  therefore  her  conduct  is  an  example  worthy 
of  our  imitation :  and  if  it  were  imitated,  it  would  happily 
reform  the  pride,  luxury,  excessive  delicacy,  and  multiform 
extravagance  which  have  crept  in  upon  us  under  the  ingra- 
tiating names  of  politeness,  decency,  hospitality,  good  eco- 
nomy, and  I  know  not  what.  These  guilty  superfluities 
and  refinements  render  the  life  of  some  a  course  of  idola- 

*  Hence  St.  Paul's  expression,  that  he  was  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  Ga- 
maliel. 

VOL.  I.— 70 


554  THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL. 

try  to  so  sordid  a  god  as  their  bellies ;  and  that  of  others 
a  course  of  busy,  laborious,  and  expensive  trifling.  But 
to  return : 

Martha,  though  a  pious  woman,  yet,  like  too  many  among 
us,  was  too  solicitous  about  these  things.  She  seemed 
more  concerned  to  maintain  her  reputation  for  good  eco- 
nomy and  hospitality,  than  to  improve  in  divine  knowledge 
at  every  opportunity ;  and  to  entertain  her  guest  rather  as 
a  gentleman  than  as  a  divine  teacher  and  the  Saviour  of  souls. 
Hence,  instead  of  sitting  at  his  feet  with  her  sister,  in  the 
posture  of  a  humble  disciple,  she  was  busy  in  making  pre- 
parations ;  and  her  mind  was  distracted  with  the  cares  of 
her  family.  As  moderate  labour  and  care  about  earthly 
things  is  lawful,  and  even  a  duty,  persons  are  not  readily 
suspicious  or  easily  convinced  of  their  guilty  excesses  in 
these  labours  and  cares.  Hence  Martha  is  so  far  from 
condemning  herself  on  this  account,  that  she  blames  her 
devout  sister  for  not  following  her  example.  Nay,  she  has 
the  confidence  to  complain  to  Christ  himself  of  her  neglect, 
and  that  in  language  too  that  sounds  somewhat  rude  and 
irreverent.  "  Carest  thou  not  that  my  sister  hath  left  me 
to  serve  alone  ?"  Art  thou  so  partial  as  to  suffer  her  to 
devolve  all  the  trouble  upon  me  while  she  sits  idle  at  thy 
feet? 

Jesus  turns  upon  her  with  just  severity,  and  throws  the 
blame  where  it  should  lie.  Martha,  Martha  !  There  is 
a  vehemence  and  pungency  in  the  repetition,  Martha, 
Martha,  thou  art  careful  and  troubled  about  many  things. 
"  Thy  worldly  mind  has  many  objects,  and  many  objects 
excite  many  cares  and  troubles,  fruitless  troubles  and  use- 
less cares.  Thy  restless  mind  is  scattered  among  a  thou- 
sand things,  and  tossed  from  one  to  another  with  an 
endless  variety  of  anxieties.  But  let  me  collect  thy 
thoughts  and  cares  to  one  point,  a  point  where  they  should 


THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL.  555 

all  terminate ;  one  thing  is  needful;  and  therefore,  drop- 
ping thy  excessive  care  about  many  things,  make  this  one 
thing  the  great  object  of  thy  pursuit.  This  One  thing  is 
what  thy  sister  is  now  attending  to,  while  thou  art  vainly 
careful  about  many  things;  and  therefore,  instead  of 
blaming  her  conduct,  I  must  approve  it.  She  has  made 
the  best  choice,  for  she  hath  chosen  that  good  part  which 
shall  not  be  taken  away  from  her.  After  all  thy  care 
and  labour,  the  things  of  this  vain  world  must  be  given 
up  at  last,  and  lost  for  ever.  But  Mary  hath  made  a  wiser 
choice ;  the  portion  she  hath  chosen  shall  be  her's  for  ever ; 
it  shall  never  be  taken  away  from  her." 

But  what  does  Christ  mean  by  this  one  thing  which 
alone  is  needful? 

I  answer,  We  may  learn  what  he  meant  by  the  occa- 
sion and  circumstances  of  his  speaking.  He  mentions  this 
one  thing  in  an  admonition  to  Martha  for  excessive  worldly 
cares  and  the  neglect  of  an  opportunity  for  promoting  her 
salvation;  and  he  expressly  opposes  this  one  thing  to  the 
many  things  which  engrossed  her  care;  and  therefore  it 
must  mean  something  different  from  and  superior  to  all  the 
pursuits  of  time.  This  one  thing  is  that  which  Mary  was 
so  much  concerned  about  while  attentively  listening  to  his 
instruction.  And  what  can  that  be  but  salvation  as  the 
end,  and  holiness  as  the  means,  or  a  proper  care  of  the 
soul?  This  is  that  which  is  opposite  and  superior  to  the 
many  cares  of  life ; — this  is  that  which  Mary  was  attend- 
ing to  and  pursuing :  and  I  may  add,  this  is  that  good  part 
which  Mary  had  chosen,  which  should  never  be  taken  away 
from  her;  for  that  good  part  which  Mary  had  chosen  seems 
intended  by  Christ  to  explain  what  he  meant  by  the  one 
thing  needful.  Therefore  the  one  thing  needful  must  mean 
the  salvation  of  the  soul,  and  an  earnest  application  to  the 
means  necessary  to  obtain  this  end  above  all  other  things 


556  THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL. 

in  the  world.  To  be  holy  in  order  to  be  happy ;  to  pray, 
to  hear,  to  meditate,  and  use  all  the  means  of  grace  ap- 
pointed to  produce  or  cherish  holiness  in  us ;  to  use  these 
means  with  constancy,  frequency,  earnestness,  and  zeal ;  to 
use  them  diligently  whatever  else  be  neglected,  or  to  make 
all  other  things  give  way  in  comparison  of  this;  this  I  ap- 
prehend is  the  one  thing  needful  which  Christ  here  intends : 
this  is  that  which  is  absolutely  necessary,  necessary  above 
all  other  things,  and  necessary  for  ever.  The  end,  namely, 
salvation,  will  be  granted  by  all  to  be  necessary,  and  the 
necessity  of  the  end  renders  the  means  also  necessary.  If 
it  be  necessary  you  shall  be  for  ever  happy,  and  escape 
everlasting  misery,  it  is  necessary  you  should  be  holy ;  for 
you  can  no  more  be  saved  without  holiness  than  you  can 
be  healthy  without  health,  see  without  light,  or  live  with- 
out food.  And  if  holiness  be  necessary,  then  the  earnest 
use  of  means  appointed  for  the  production  and  improve- 
ment of  holiness  in  us  must  be  necessary  too;  for  you 
can  no  more  expect  to  become  holy  without  the  use  of 
these  means,  than  to  reap  without  sowing,  or  become  truly 
virtuous  and  good  by  chance  or  fatality.  To  be  holy  in 
order  to  be  happy,  and  to  use  all  the  means  of  grace  in 
order  to  be  holy,  is  therefore  the  one  thing  needful. 

But  why  is  this  concern  which  is  so  complex  called  one 
thing? 

I  answer :  Though  salvation  and  holiness  include  various 
ingredients,  and  though  the  means  of  grace  are  various, 
yet  they  may  be  all  taken  collectively  and  called  one  thing ; 
that  is,  one  great  business,  one  important  object  of  pursuit, 
in  which  all  our  endeavours  and  aims  should  centre  and 
terminate.  It  is  also  said  to  be  one,  in  opposition  to  the 
many  things  that  are  the  objects  of  a  worldly  mind.  This 
world  owes  its  variety  in  a  great  measure  to  contradiction 
and  inconsistency.  There  is  no  harmony  or  unity  in  the 


THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL.  557 

earthly  objects  of  men's  pursuits,  nor  in  the  means  they 
use  to  secure  them.  Riches,  honours,  and  pleasures  gener- 
ally clash.  If  a  man  will  be  rich  he  must  restrain  himself 
in  the  pleasures  of  gratifying  his  eager  appetites,  and  per- 
haps use  some  mean  artifice  that  may  stain  his  honour. 
If  he  would  be  honourable,  he  must  often  be  prodigal  of 
his  riches,  and  abstain  from  some  sordid  pleasures.  If  he 
would  have  the  full  enjoyment  of  sensual  pleasures,  he 
must  often  squander  away  his  riches,  and  injure  his  honour 
to  procure  them.  The  lusts  of  men  as  well  as  their  ob- 
jects, are  also  various  and  contradictory.  Covetousness 
and  sensuality,  pride  and  tranquility,  envy  and  the  love  of 
ease,  and  a  thousand  jarring  passions,  maintain  a  constant 
fight  in  the  sinner's  breast.  The  means  for  gratifying  these 
lusts  are  likewise  contrary;  sometimes  truth,  sometimes 
falsehood,  sometimes  indolence,  sometimes  action  and  labour 
are  necessary.  In  these  things  there  is  no  unity  of  design, 
nor  consistency  of  means;  but  the  sinner  is  properly  dis- 
tracted, drawn  this  way  and  that,  tossed  from  wave  to 
wave ;  and  there  is  no  steadiness  or  uniformity  in  his  pur- 
suits. But  the  work  of  salvation  is  one,  the  means  and 
the  end  correspond,  and  the  means  are  consistent  one  with 
another;  and  therefore  the  whole,  though  consisting  of 
many  parts,  may  be  said  to  be  one. 

It  may  also  be  called  the  one  thing  needful,  to  intimate 
that  this  is  needful  above  all  other  things.  It  is  a  common 
form  of  speech  to  say  of  that  which  is  necessary  above  all 
other  things,  that  it  is  the  one  or  only  thing  necessary:  so 
we  may  understand  this  passage.  There  are  what  we  call 
the  real  necessaries  of  life;  such  as  food  and  raiment; 
there  are  also  necessary  callings  and  necessary  labours. 
All  these  are  necessary  in  a  lower  sense ;  necessary  in  their 
proper  place.  But  in  comparison  of  the  great  work  of  our 
salvation,  they  are  all  unnecessary ;  if  we  be  but  saved, 


558  THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL. 

we  may  do  very  well  without  them  all.  This  is  so  neces- 
sary, that  nothing  else  deserves  to  be  called  necessary  in 
comparison  of  it. 

This  shows  you  also,  not  only  why  this  is  called  one  thing, 
but  why  or  in  what  sense  it  is  said  to  be  necessary.  It  is 
of  absolute  and  incomparable  necessity.  There  is  no  ab- 
solute necessity  to  our  happiness  that  we  should  be  rich 
or  honourable ;  nay,  there  is  no  absolute  necessity  to  our 
happiness  that  we  should  live  in  this  world  at  all,  for  we 
may  live  infinitely  more  happy  in  another.  And  if  life 
itself  be  not  absolutely  necessary,  then  much  less  are  food, 
or  raiment,  or  health,  or  any  of  those  things  which  in  a 
lower  sense  we  call  the  necessaries  of  life.  In  comparison 
of  this,  they  are  all  needless.  I  add  farther,  this  one  thing 
may  be  said  to  be  necessary,  because  it  is  necessary  always, 
or  for  ever.  The  necessaries  of  this  life  we  cannot  want 
long,  for  we  must  soon  remove  into  a  world  where  there 
is  no  room  for  them ;  but  holiness  and  salvation  we  shall 
find  needful  always :  needful  under  the  calamities  of 
life;  needful  in  the  agonies  of  death;  needful  in  the 
world  of  spirits ;  needful  millions  of  ages  hence ;  needful 
to  all  eternity ;  and  without  it  we  are  eternally  undone. 
This  is  a  necessity  indeed !  a  necessity,  in  comparison  of 
which  all  other  necessaries  are  but  superfluities. 

I  hope  by  this  short  explication  I  have  cleared  the  way 
through  your  understandings  to  your  hearts,  and  to  your 
hearts  I  would  now  address  myself.  However  solemnly 
I  may  speak  upon  this  interesting  subject,  you  will  have 
more  reason  to  blame  me  for  the  deficiency,  than  for  the 
excess  of  my  zeal  and  solemnity.  I  hope  I  have  entered 
this  sacred  place  to-day  with  a  sincere  desire  to  do  some 
service  to  your  immortal  souls  before  I  leave  it.  And 
may  I  not  hope  you  have  come  here  with  a  desire  to  re- 
ceive some  advantage  ?  If  not,  you  may  number  this  seem- 


THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL.  559 

ing  act  of  religion  among  the  sins  of  your  life ;  you  have 
come  here  to-day  to  sin  away  these  sacred  hours  in  hypo- 
crisy and  a  profane  mockery  of  the  great  God.  But  if 
you  are  willing  to  receive  any  benefit,  hear  attentively : 
hear,  that  your  souls  may  live. 

My  first  request  to  you  is,*  that  you  would  make  this 
passage  the  test  of  your  characters,  and  seriously  inquire 
whether  you  have  lived  in  the  world  as  those  that  really 
and  practically  believe  that  this  is  the  one  thing  of  abso- 
lute necessity.  Are  not  all  the  joys  of  heaven  and  your 
immortal  souls  worth  the  little  pains  of  seriously  putting 
this  short  question  to  your  consciences  ?  Review  your  life, 
look  into  your  hearts,  and  inquire,  has  this  one  thing  lain 
more  upon  your  hearts  than  all  other  things  together? 
Has  this  been,  above  all  other  things,  the  object  of  your 
most  vehement  desires,  your  most  earnest  endeavours,  and 
eager  pursuit?  I  do  not  ask  whether  you  have  heard  or 
read  that  this  one  thing  is  necessary,  or  whether  you  have 
sometimes  talked  about  it.  I  do  not  ask  whether  you  have 
paid  to  God  the  compliment  of  appearing  in  his  house 
once  a  week,  or  of  performing  him  a  little  lip-service  morn- 
ing and  evening  in  your  families,  or  in  your  closets,  after 
you  have  served  yourselves  and  the  world  all  the  rest  of 
your  time,  without  one  affectionate  thought  of  God.  Nor 
do  I  inquire  whether  in  a  pang  of  horror  after  the  com- 
mission -of  some  gross  sin,  you  have  tried  to  make  your 
conscience  easy  by  a  few  prayers  and  tears,  of  which  you 
form  an  opiate  to  cast  you  again  into  a  dead  sleep  in  sin ; 
I  do  not  ask  whether  you  have  performed  many  actions 
that  are  materially  good,  and  abstained  from  many  sins. 

*  Many  of  the  following  sentiments,  as  to  the  substance  of  them,  are  bor- 
rowed from  Mr.  Baxter's  excellent  discourse,  entitled  A  SAINT  OR  A  BRUTE; 
and  I  know  no  better  pattern  for  a  minister  to  follow  in  his  address  to  shi- 
ners, than  that  flaming  and  successful  preacher. 


560  THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL. 

All  this  you  may  have  done,  and  yet  have  neglected  the 
one  thing  needful  all  your  lives. 

But  I  ask  you,  whether  this  one  thing  needful  has  been 
habitually  uppermost  in  your  hearts,  the  favourite  object 
of  your  desires,  the  prize  of  your  most  vigorous  endeav- 
ours, the  supreme  happiness  of  your  souls,  and  the  princi- 
pal object  of  your  concern  above  all  things  in  the  world  ? 
Sirs,  you  may  now  hear  this  question  with  stupid  uncon- 
cern and  indifferency ;  but  I  must  tell  you,  you  will  find, 
another  day,  how  much  depends  upon  it.  In  that  day  it 
will  be  found,  that  the  main  difference  between  true 
Christians  and  the  various  classes  of  sinners  is  this ; — God, 
Christ,  holiness,  and  the  concerns  of  eternity,  are  habitu- 
ally uppermost  in  the  hearts  of  the  former;  but,  to  the 
latter,  they  are  generally  but  things  by  the  by ;  and  the 
world  engrosses  the  vigour  of  their  souls,  and  is  the  prin- 
cipal concern  of  their  lives.  To  serve  God,  to  obtain  his 
favour,  and  to  be  happy  for  ever  in  his  love,  is  the  main 
business  of  the  saint,  to  which  all  the  concerns  of  the 
world  and  the  flesh  must  give  way;  but  to  live  in  ease,  in 
reputation,  in  pleasure,  or  riches,  or  to  gratify  himself  in 
the  pursuit  and  enjoyment  of  some  created  good,  this  is 
the  main  concern  of  the  sinner.  The  one  has  made  a 
hearty  resignation  of  himself,  and  all  that  he  is  and  has, 
to  God,  through  Jesus  Christ;  he  serves  him  with  the 
best,  and  thinks  nothing  too  good  for  him.  But  the  other 
has  his  exceptions  and  reserves;  he  will  serve  God  wil- 
lingly, provided  it  may  consist  with  his  ease,  and  pleasure, 
and  temporal  interest;  he  will  serve  God  with  a  bended 
knee,  and  the  external  forms  of  devotion;  but,  with  the 
vigour  of  his  spirit,  he  serves  the  world  and  his  flesh. 
This  is  the  grand  difference  between  a  true  Christian  and 
the  various  forms  of  half-Christians  and  hypocrites.  And 
certainly  this  is  a  difference  that  may  be  discerned.  The 


THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL.  561 

tenor  of  a  man's  practice,  and  the  object  of  his  love,  es- 
pecially of  his  highest  love  .and  practical  esteem,  must 
certainly  be  very  distinguishable  from  a  thing  by  the  by, 
and  from  the  object  of  a  languid  passion,  or  mere  specula- 
tion. Therefore,  if  you  make  but  an  impartial  trial,  you 
have  reason  to  hope  you  will  make  a  just  discovery  of 
your  true  character ;  or  if  you  cannot  make  the  discovery 
yourselves,  call  in  the  assistance  of  others.  Ask  not  your 
worldly  and  sensual  neighbours,  for  they  are  but  poor 
judges,  and  they  will  flatter  you  in  self-defence ;  but  ask 
your  pious  friends  whether  you  have  spoke  and  acted  like 
persons  that  practically  made  this  the  one  thing  needful. 
They  can  tell  you  what  subject  you  talked  most  seriously 
about,  what  pursuit  seemed  to  lie  most  upon  your  hearts, 
and  chiefly  to  exhaust  your  activity.  Brethren,  I  beseech 
you,  by  one  means  or  other,  to  bring  this  matter  to  an 
issue,  and  let  it  hang  in  suspense  no  longer.  Why  are 
you  so  indifferent  how  this  matter  stands  with  you  ?  Is  it 
because  you  imagine  you  may  be  true  Christians,  and 
obtain  salvation,  however  this  matter  be  with  you  ?  But 
be  not  deceived :  no  man  can  serve  two  masters,  whose 
commands  are  contrary;  and  ye  cannot  serve  God  and 
mammon,  with  a  service  equally  devoted  to  both.  If  any 
man  love  the  world,  with  supreme  affection,  the  love  of  the 
Father  is  not  in  him.  1  John  ii.  15.  Be  not  deceived ; 
God  is  not  mocked :  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall 
he  also  reap  ;  he  that  soweth  to  his  flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh 
reap  corruption  :  a  miserable  harvest  indeed ;  but  he  that 
soweth  to  the  spirit,  shall  of  the  spirit  reap  everlasting 
life.  Gal.  vi.  7,  8.  Therefore  you  may  be  sure  that  if 
you  live  after  the  flesh,  you  shall  die  ;  and  that  you  can 
never  enjoy  the  one  thing  needful  unless  you  mind  and 
pursue  it  above  all  other  things. 

But  I  shall  not  urge  you  any  farther  to  try  yourselves 

VOL.  L— 71 


562  THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL. 

by  this  test.  I  take  it  for  granted  the  consciences  of  some 
of  you  have  determined  the  matter,  and  that  you  are 
plainly  convicted  of  having  hitherto  neglected  the  one 
thing  needful.  Allow  me  then  honestly  to  expose  your 
conduct  in  its  proper  colours,  and  tell  you  what  you  have 
been  doing  while  you  were  busy  about  other  things,  and 
neglecting  this  one  thing  needful. 

1.  However  well  you  have  improved  your  time  for 
other  purposes,  you  have  lost  it  all,  unless  you  have  im- 
proved it  in  securing  the  one  thing  needful.  The  proper 
notion  of  time  is,  that  it  is  a  space  for  repentance.  Time 
is  given  us  to  prepare  for  eternity.  If  this  is  done,  we 
have  lived  long  enough,  and  the  great  end  of  time  and  life 
is  answered,  whatever  else  be  undone.  But  if  this  be 
undone,  you  have  lived  in  vain,  and  all  your  time  is  lost, 
however  busily  and  successfully  you  have  pursued  other 
things.  Though  you  have  studied  yourselves  pale  to  fur- 
nish your  minds  with  knowledge ;  though  you  have  spent 
the  night  and  the  day  in  heaping  up  riches,  or  climbing  up 
to  the  pinacle  of  honour,  and  not  lost  an  hour  that  might 
be  turned  to  your  advantage,  yet  you  have  been  most 
wretchedly  fooling  away  your  time,  and  lost  it  all,  if  you 
have  not  laid  it  out  in  securing  the  one  thing  needful. 
And,  believe  me,  time  is  a  precious  thing.  So  it  will  ap- 
pear in  a  dying  hour,  or  in  the  eternal  world,  to  the 
greatest  spendthrift  among  you.  Then,  oh  for  a  year,  or 
even  a  week,  or  a  day,  to  secure  that  one  thing  which  you 
are  now  neglecting !  And  will  you  now  waste  your  time, 
while  you  enjoy  it  ?  Shall  so  precious  a  blessing  be  lost  ? 
By  this  calculation,  how  many  days,  how  many  years,  have 
you  lost  for  ever!  For,  is  not  that  lost  which  is  spent  in 
crossing  the  end  for  which  it  was  given  you  ?  Time  was 
given  you  to  secure  an  eternity  of  happiness,  but  you  have 
spent  it  in  adding  sin  to  sin,  and  consequently  in  treasuring 


THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL.  563 

up  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath.  And  is  not  your  time 
then  a  thousand  times  worse  than  lost  ?  Let  me  tell  you, 
if  you  continue  in  this  course  to  the  end,  you  will  wish 
a  thousand  times,  either  that  you  had  never  had  one 
hour's  time  given  you,  or  that  you  had  made  a  better  use 
of  it. 

2.  Whatever  else  you  have  been  doing,  you  have  lost 
your  labour  with  your  time,  if  you  have  not  laboured 
above  all  things  for  this  one  thing  needful.  No  doubt  you 
have  been  busy  about  something  all  your  life ;  but  you 
might  as  well  have  been  idle;  you  have  been  busy  in 
doing  nothing.  You  have  perhaps  toiled  through  many 
anxious  and  laborious  days,  and  your  nights  have  shared 
in  the  anxieties  and  labours  of  your  days.  But  if  you 
have  not  laboured  for  the  one  thing  necessary,  all  your 
labour  and  all  the  fruits  of  it  are  lost.  Indeed  God  may 
have  made  use  of  you  for  the  good  of  his  church,  or  of 
your  country,  as  we  make  use  of  thorns  and  briers  to  stop 
a  breach,  or  of  useless  wood  for  firing  to  warm  our  families ; 
but  as  to  any  lasting  and  solid  advantage  to  yourselves,  all 
your  labour  has  been  lost. 

But  this  is  not  all.  Not  only  your  secular  labour  is 
lost,  but  all  your  toil  and  pains,  if  you  have  used  any  in 
the  duties  of  religion,  they  are  lost  likewise.  Your  read- 
ing, hearing,  praying,  and  communicating;  all  your  serious 
thoughts  of  death  and  eternity,  all  your  struggles  with 
particular  lusts  and  temptations,  all  the  kind  offices  you 
have  done  to  mankind,  all  are  lost,  since  you  have  per- 
formed them  by  halves  with  a  lukewarm  heart,  and  have 
not  made  the  one  thing  needful  your  great  business  and 
pursuit.  All  these  things  will  not  save  you;  and  what  is 
that  religion  good  for  which  will  not  save  your  souls? 
What  do  those  religious  endeavours  avail  which  will  suffer 
you  to  fall  into  hell  after  all  ?  Certainly  such  religion  is  vain. 


564  THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL. 

And  now,  my  hearers,  do  you  believe  this,  or  do  you 
not?  If  you  do,  will  you,  dare  you  still  go  on  in  the 
same  course  ?  If  you  do  not  believe  it,  let  me  reason  the 
matter  with  you  a  little.  You  will  not  believe  that  all 
the  labour  and  pains  you  have  taken  all  your  life  have 
been  quite  lost:  no,  you  now  enjoy  the  fruits  of  them. 
But  show  me  now,  if  you  can,  what  you  have  gotten  by 
all  that  stir  you  have  made,  that  will  follow  one  step  be- 
yond the  grave,  or  that  you  can  call  your  own  to-morrow. 
Where  is  that  sure  immortal  acquisition  that  you  can  carry 
with  you  into  the  eternal  world?  Were  you  to  die  this 
hour,  would  it  afford  you  any  pleasuse  to  reflect  that  you 
have  lived  a  merry  life,  and  had  a  satiety  of  sensual  plea- 
sures, or  that  you  have  laboured  for  riches  and  honours, 
and  perhaps  acquired  them?  Will  this  reflection  afford 
you  pleasure  or  pain?  Will  this  abate  the  agony  of 
eternal  pain,  or  make  up  for  the  loss  of  heaven,  which  you 
wilfully  incurred  by  an  over-eager  pursuit  of  these  perish- 
ing vanities? 

Do  you  not  see  the  extravagant  folly,  the  distracted 
frenzy  of  such  a  conduct  ?  Alas  !  while  you  are  neglect- 
ing the  one  thing  needful,  what  are  you  doing  but  spend- 
ing your  time  and  labour  in  laborious  idleness,  honourably 
debasing  yourselves,  delightfully  tormenting  yourselves, 
wisely  befooling  yourselves,  and  frugally  impoverishing 
and  ruining  yourselves  for  ever?  A  child  or  an  idiot 
riding  upon  a  staff,  building  their  mimic  houses,  or  playing 
with  a  feather,  are  not  so  foolish  as  you  in  your  conduct, 
while  you  are  so  seriously  pursuing  the  affairs  of  time,  and 
neglecting  those  of  eternity.  But, 

3.  This  is  not  all :  all  your  labour  and  pains  have  not 
only  been  lost  while  you  have  neglected  this  one  thing,  but 
you  have  taken  pains  to  ruin  yourselves,  and  laboured  hard 
all  your  lives  for  your  own  destruction.  To  this  you  will 


THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL.  565 

immediately  answer,  "  God  forbid  that  we  should  do  any 
thing  to  hurt  ourselves ;  we  were  far  from  having  any  such 
design."  But  the  question  is  not,  what  was  your  design? 
but,  what  is  the  unavoidable  consequence  of  your  conduct, 
according  to  the  nature  of  things,  and  the  unchangeable 
constitution  of  heaven?  Whatever  your  design  in  going 
on  in  sin,  the  wages  of  sin  is  death,  eternal  death.  You 
may  indulge  the  carnal  mind,  and  walk  after  the  flesh,  and 
yet  hope  no  bad  consequence  will  follow :  but  God  has 
told  you  that  to  be  carnally  minded  is  death,  and  that  if 
you  live  after  the  flesh  you  shall  die.  The  robber  on  the 
highway  has  no  design  to  be  hanged ;  but  this  does  not  ren- 
der him  a  jot  safer.  Therefore,  design  what  you  will,  it  is 
certain  you  are  positively  destroying  yourselves  while  your 
labours  about  other  things  hinder  you  from  pursuing  the 
one  thing  needful.  And  does  not  this  thought  shock  you, 
that  you  should  be  acting  the  part  of  enemies  against  your- 
selves, the  most  pernicious  and  deadly  enemies  to  your- 
selves in  the  whole  universe?  No  enemy  in  the  whole 
universe  could  do  you  that  injury  without  your  consent 
which  you  a"re  doing  to  yourselves.  To  tempt  you  to  sin 
is  all  the  devil  can  do ;  but  the  temptation  alone  can  do 
you  no  injury;  it  is  consenting  to  it  that  ruins  you; 
and  this  consent  is  your  own  voluntary  act.  All  the  de- 
vils in  hell  could  not  force  you  to  sin  without  your  con- 
sent, and  therefore  all  the  devils  in  hell  do  not  injure  you 
as  you  do  yourselves.  God  has  not  given  them  so  much 
power  over  you  as  he  has  given  you  over  yourselves ;  and 
this  power  you  abuse  to  your  own  destruction. 

Oh !  in  what  a  distracted  state  is  the  world  of  the  un- 
godly !  If  any  other  man  be  their  enemy,  how  do  the} 
resent  it !  But  they  are  their  own  worst  enemies,  and  yet 
never  fall  out  with  themselves.  If  another  occasion  them 
a  disappointment  in  their  pursuits,  defraud  them  of  an  ex- 


566  THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL. 

pected  good,  or  lay  schemes  to  make  them  miserable,  what 
sullen  grudge,  what  keen  revenge,  what  flaming  resent- 
ments immediately  rise  in  their  breasts  against  him !  And 
yet  they  are  all  their  lives  disinheriting  themselves  of  the 
heavenly  inheritance,  laying  a  train  to  blow  up  all  their 
own  hopes,  and  heaping  a  mountain  of  guilt  upon  them- 
selves to  sink  them  into  the  bottomless  pit :  and  all  this 
while  they  think  they  are  the  best  friends  to  themselves, 
and  consulting  their  own  interest.  As  for  the  devil,  the 
common  enemy  of  mankind,  they  abhor  him,  and  bless 
themselves  from  him;  but  they  are  worse  to  themselves 
than  devils,  and  yet  never  fall  out  with  themselves  for  it. 

This,  sinners,  may  seem  a  harsh  representation  of  your 
conduct,  but,  alas  !  it  is  true.  And  if  it  be  so  shocking  to 
you  to  hear  it,  what  must  it  be  to  be  guilty  of  it !  And 
oh !  think  what  must  be  the  consequences  of  such  a  con- 
duct, such  unnatural  suicide ! 

4.  If  you  have  hitherto  neglected  the  one  thing  need- 
ful, you  have  unmanned  yourselves,  acted  beneath  and  con- 
trary to  your  own  reason,  and  in  plain  terms  behaved  as 
if  you  had  been  out  of  your  senses.  If  you  have  the  use 
of  your  reason,  it  must  certainly  tell  you  for  what  it  was 
given  to  you.  And  I  beseech  you  to  tell  me  what  was  it 
given  you  for  but  to  serve  the  God  that  made  you,  to 
secure  his  favour,  to  prepare  for  your  eternal  state,  and  to 
enjoy  the  supreme  good  as  your  portion?  Can  you  once 
think  your  reason,  that  divina  particula  aura,  was  given 
you  for  such  low  purposes  as  the  contrivances,  labour,  and 
pursuits  of  this  vain  life,  and  to  make  you  a  more  inge- 
nious sort  of  brutes  ?  He  was  master  of  an  unusual  share 
of  reason  who  said,  "  There  is  very  little  difference  be- 
tween having  reason  and  having  none,  if  we  had  nothing 
to  do  with  it  but  cunningly  to  lay  up  for  our  food,  and 
make  provision  for  this  corruptible  flesh,  and  had  not  an- 


THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL.  567 

other  life  to  mind."  Therefore  I  may  safely  affirm  that 
you  have  cast  away  your  reason,  and  acted  as  if  you  were 
out  of  your  wits,  if  you  have  not  employed  your  rational 
powers  in  the  pursuit  of  the  one  thing  needful.  Where 
was  your  reason  when  your  dying  flesh  was  preferred  to 
your  immortal  spirits  ?  Was  reason  your  guide  when  you 
chose  the  trash  of  this  perishing  world,  and  sought  it  more 
than  the  favour  of  God  and  all  the  joys  of  heaven  1  Can 
you  pretend  to  common  sense,  when  you  might  have  had 
the  pardon  of  sin,  sanctifying  grace,  and  a  title  to  heaven, 
secured  to  you  ere  now  ?  But  you  have  neglected  all,  and 
instead  of  having  a  sure  title  to  heaven,  or  being  prepared 
for  it,  you  are  fitted  for  destruction,  and  nothing  else ;  and 
are  only  awaiting  for  a  fever  or  a  flux,  or  some  other  exe- 
cutioner of  divine  vengeance,  to  cut  the  thread  of  life,  and 
let  you  sink  to  hell  by  your  own  weight.  Thither  you 
gravitate  under  the  load  of  sin  as  naturally  as  a  stone  to 
the  centre ;  and  you  need  no  other  weight  to  sink  you 
down.  What  have  you  done  all  your  life  to  make  a  wise 
man  think  you  truly  reasonable?  Is  that  your  reason,  to 
be  wise  to  do  evil,  while  to  do  good  you  have  no  know- 
ledge ;  or  to  be  ingenious  and  active  about  the  trifles  of 
time,  while  you  neglect  that  great  work  for  which  you 
were  created  and  redeemed?  Can  you  be  wise  and  yet 
not  consider  your  latter  end  ?  Nay,  can  you  pretend  to  so 
much  as  common  sense,  while  you  sell  your  eternal  salva- 
tion for  the  sordid  pleasures  of  a  few  flying  years?  Have 
you  common  sense,  when  you  will  not  keep  yourselves  out 
of  everlasting  fire?  What  can  a  madman  do  worse  than 
wilfully  destroy  himself?  And  this  you  are  doing  every  day. 
And  yet  these  very  persons  are  proud  of  their  madness, 
and  are  apt  to  fling  the  charge  of  folly  upon  others,  espe- 
cially if  they  observe  some  poor  weak  creatures,  though 
it  be  but  one  in  five  hundred,  fall  into  melancholy,  or  lose 


568  THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL. 

their  reason  for  a  time,  while  they  are  groaning  under  a 
sense  of  sin,  and  anxious  about  their  eternal  state ;  then 
what  a  clamour  against  religion  and  preciseness,  as  the 
ready  way  to  make  people  run  mad !  then  they  even  dare 
to  publish  their  resolution  that  they  will  not  read  and  pore 
so  much  upon  these  things,  lest  it  should  drive  them  out 
of  their  senses.  O  miserable  mortals !  is  it  possible  they 
should  be  more  dangerously  mad  than  they  are  already? 
Do  you  lay  out  your  reason,  your  strength,  and  time  in 
pursuing  vain  shadows,  and  in  feeding  a  mortal  body  for 
the  grave,  while  the  important  realities  of  the  eternal 
world,  and  the  salvation  of  your  immortal  souls  are  forgot- 
ten or  neglected  ?  Do  you  sell  your  Saviour  with  Judas 
for  a  little  money,  and  change  your  part  in  God  and  hea- 
ven for  the  sordid  pleasures  of  sin,  which  are  but  for  a 
season?  and  are  you  afraid  of  seriously  reflecting  upon 
this  course,  that  you  may  reform  it,  for  fear  such  thoughts 
should  make  you  mad?  What  greater  madness  than  this 
can  you  fear  ?  Will  you  run  from  God,  from  Christ,  from 
mercy,  from  the  saints,  from  heaven  itself,  for  fear  of  being 
mad  ?  Alas !  you  are  mad  in  the  worst  sense  already. 
Will  you  run  to  hell  to  prove  yourselves  in  your  senses? 
He  was  a  wise  and  good  man  who  said,  "  Though  the  loss 
of  a  man's  understanding  is  a  grievous  affliction,  and  such 
as  I  hope  God  will  never  lay  upon  me,  yet  I  had  a  thousand 
times  rather  go  distracted  to  Bedlam  with  the  excessive 
care  about  my  salvation,  than  to  be  one  of  you  that  cast 
away  the  care  of  your  salvation  for  fear  of  being  dis- 
tracted, and  will  go  among  the  infernal  Bedlams  into  hell 
for  fear  of  being  mad."  Distraction  in  itself  is  not  a  moral 
evil,  but  a  physical,  like  those  disorders  of  the  body  from 
which  it  often  proceeds,  and  therefore  is  no  object  for 
punishment;  and  had  you  no  capacity  of  understanding 
you  would  have  a  cloak  for  your  sin ;  but  your  madness 


THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL.  569 

is  your  crime,  because  it  is  voluntary,  and  therefore  you 
must  give  an  account  for  it  to  the  Supreme  Judge. 

It  would  be  easy  to  offer  many  more  considerations  to 
expose  the  absurdity  and  danger  of  your  conduct  in  ne- 
glecting the  one  thing  necessary;  but  these  must  suffice 
for  the  present  hour.  And  I  only  desire  you  to  consider 
farther,  if  this  be  a  just  view  of  the  conduct  of  such  as  are 
guilty  of  this  neglect,  in  what  a  miserable,  pitiable  condi- 
tion is  the  world  in  general.  I  have  so  often  tried  the 
utmost  energy  of  my  words  upon  you  with  so  little  suc- 
cess as  to  many,  that  I  am  quite  grown  weary  of  them. 
Allow  me  therefore  for  once  to  borrow  the  more  striking 
and  pungent  words  of  one  now  in  heaven ;  of  one  who  had 
more  success  than  almost  any  of  his  contemporaries  or 
successors  in  the  important  work  of  "  converting  sinners 
from  the  error  of  their  way  and  saving  souls  from  death :" 
I  mean  that  incomparable  preacher,  Mr.  Baxter,  who  sowed 
an  immortal  seed  in  his  parish  of  Kidderminster,  which 
grows  and  brings  forth  fruit  to  this  day.  His  words  have, 
through  the  divine  blessing,  been  irresistible  to  thousands ; 
and  oh  that  such  of  you,  my  dear  hearers,  whose  hearts 
may  have  been  proof  against  mine,  may  not  be  so  against 
his  also ! 

"  Look  upon  this  text  of  Scripture,"  says  he,  "  and  look 
also  upon  the  course  of  the  earth,  and  consider  of  the  disa- 
greement; and  whether  it  be  not  still  as  before  the  flood, 
that  all  the  imaginations  of  man's  heart  are  evil  continually. 
Gen.  vi.  5.  Were  it  possible  for  a  man  to  see  the  affec- 
tions and  motions  of  all  the  world  at  once,  as  God  seeth 
them,  what  a  pitiful  sight  it  would  be !  What  a  stir  do 
they  make,  alas,  poor  souls  !  for  they  know  not  what ! 
while  they  forget,  or  slight,  or  hate  the  one  thing  needful. 
What  a  heap  of  gadding  ants  should  we  see,  that  do  noth- 
ing but  gather  sticks  and  straws !  Look  among  persons  of 

VOL.  I.— 72 


670  THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL. 

every  rank,  in  city  and  country,  and  look  into  families 
about  you,  and  see  what  trade  it  is  they  are  most  busily 
driving  on,  whether  it  be  for  heaven  or  earth!  And 
whether  you  can  discern  by  their  care  and  labours  that 
they  understand  what  is  the  one  thing  necessary !  They 
are  as  busy  as  bees ;  but  not  for  honey,  but  in  spinning 
such  a  spider's  web  as  the  besom  of  death  will  presently 
sweep  down.  Job  viii.  14.  They  labour  hard,  but  for 
what  1  For  the  food  that  perisheth,  but  not  for  that  which 
endureth  to  everlasting  life.  John  vi.  27.  They  are  dili- 
gent seekers;  but  for  what?  Not  first  for  God,  his  king- 
dom and  righteousness,  but  for  that  which  they  might  have 
had  as  an  addition  to  their  blessedness.  Matt.  vi.  33. 
They  are  still  doing ;  what  are  they  doing  1  Even  un- 
doing themselves  by  running  away  from  God,  to  hunt  after 
the  perishing  pleasures  of  the  world.  Instead  of  provid- 
ing for  the  life  to  come,  they  are  making  provision  for  the 
flesh  to  fulfil  its  lusts.  Rom.  xiii.  14.  Some  of  them  hear 
the  word  of  God,  but  presently  choke  it  by  the  deceitful- 
ness  of  riches,  and  the  cares  of  this  life.  Luke  viii.  14. 
They  are  careful  and  troubled  about  many  things  ;  but  the 
one  thing  that  should  be  all  to  them  is  cast  by  as  if  it  were 
nothing.  Providing  for  the  flesh  and  minding  the  world 

o  o  o 

is  the  employment  of  their  lives.  They  labour  with  a 
canine  appetite  for  their  trash ;  but  to  holiness  they  have 
no  appetite,  and  are  worse  than  indifferent  to  the  things 
that  are  indeed  desirable.  They  have  no  covetousness  for 
the  things  which  they  are  commanded  earnestly  to  covet. 
1  Cor.  xii.  31.  They  have  so  little  hunger  and  thirst 
after  righteousness,  that  a  very  little  or  none  will  satisfy 
them.  Here  they  are  pleading  always  for  moderation,  and 
against  too  much,  and  too  earnest,  and  too  long ;  and  all 
is  too  much  with  them  that  is  above  stark  naught,  or  dead 
hypocrisy ;  and  all  is  too  earnest  and  too  long  that  would 


THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL.  571 

make  religion  seem  a  business,  or  engage  them  to  seem 
serious  in  their  own  profession,  or  put  them  past  jest  in  the 
worship  of  God  and  the  matters  of  their  salvation.  Let 
but  their  children  or  servants  neglect  their  worldly  busi- 
ness, (which  I  confess  they  should  not  do,)  and  they  shall 
hear  of  it  with  both  their  ears ;  but  if  they  sin  against  God, 
or  neglect  his  word  or  worship,  they  shall  meet  with  more 
patience  than  Eli's  son  did :  a  cold  reproof  is  usually  the 
most ;  and  it  is  well  if  they  be  not  encouraged  in  their  sin ; 
it  is  well  if  a  child  or  servant  that  begins  to  be  serious  for 
salvation  be  not  rebuked,  derided,  and  hindered  by  them. 
If  on  their  days  of  labour  they  oversleep  themselves,  they 
shall  be  sure  to  be  called  up  to  work,  (and  good  reason,) 
but  when  do  they  call  them  up  to  prayer  ?  when  do  they 
urge  them  to  consider  or  converse  upon  the  things  that 
concern  their  everlasting  life?  The  Lord's  own  day, 
which  is  appointed  to  be  set  apart  for  matters  of  this 
nature,  is  wasted  in  idleness  or  worldly  talk.  Come  at 
any  time  into  their  company,  and  you  may  talk  enough, 
and  too  much  of  news,  or  other  men's  matters,  of  their 
worldly  business,  sports,  and  pleasures,  but  about  God  and 
their  salvation  they  have  so  little  to  say,  and  that  so  heart- 
lessly, and  by-the-by,  as  if  they  were  things  that  belonged 
not  to  their  care  and  duty,  and  no  whit  concerned  them. 
Talk  with  them  about  the  renovation  of  the  soul,  the 
nature  of  holiness,  and  the  life  to  come,  and  you  will  find 
them  almost  as  dumb  as  a  fish.  The  most  understand  not 
matters  of  this  nature,  nor  much  desire  or  care  to  under- 
stand them.  If  one  would  teach  them  personally,  they 
are  too  old  to  be  catechized  or  to  learn,  though  not  too  old 
to  be  ignorant  of  the  matters  they  were  made  for  and  pre- 
served for  in  the  world.  They  are  too  wise  to  learn  to 
be  wise,  and  too  good  to  be  taught  how  to  be  good, 
though  not  too  wise  to  follow  the  seducements  of  the  devil 


572  THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL. 

and  the  world,  nor  too  good  to  be  the  slaves  of  Satan  and 
the  despisers  and  enemies  of  goodness.  If  they  do  any- 
thing which  they  call  serving  God,  it  is  some  cold  and 
heartless  use  of  words  to  make  themselves  believe  that  for 
all  their  sins  they  shall  be  saved ;  so  that  God  will  call 
that  a  serving  their  sins  and  abominations,  which  they  will 
call  a  serving  of  God.  Some  of  them  will  confess  that 
holiness  is  good,  but  they  hope  God  will  be  merciful  to 
them  without  it;  and  some  do  so  hate  it,  that  it  is  a  dis- 
pleasing irksome  thing  to  them  to  hear  any  serious  dis- 
course of  holiness ;  and  they  detest  and  deride  those  as 
fanatical,  troublesome  precisians  that  diligently  seek  the 
one  thing  necessary  :  so  that  if  the  belief  of  the  most  may 
be  judged  by  their  practices,  we  may  confidently  say,  that 
they  do  not  practically  believe  that  ever  they  should  be 
brought  to  judgment,  or  that  there  is  any  heaven  or  hell 
to  be  expected  :  and  that  their  confession  of  the  truth  of 
the  Scriptures  and  the  articles  of  the  Christian  faith  are  no 
proofs  that  they  heartily  take  them  to  be  true.  Who  can 
be  such  a  stranger  to  the  world  as  not  to  see  that  this  is 
the  case  of  the  greatest  part  of  men  ?  And,  which  is 
worst  of  all,  they  go  on  in  this  course  against  all  that  can 
be  said  to  them,  and  will  give  no  impartial,  considerate 
hearing  to  the  truth,  which  would  recover  them  to  their 
wits,  but  live  as  if  it  would  be  a  felicity  to  them  in  hell  to 
think  that  they  came  thither  by  wilful,  resolution,  and  in 
despite  of  the  remedy." 

This,  sinners,  is  a  true  representation  of  your  case, 
drawn  by  one  that  well  knew  it  and  lamented  it.  And 
what  do  you  now  think  of  it  yourselves  ?  What  do  you 
think  will  be  the  consequence  of  such  a  course  ?  Is  it 
safe  to  persist  in  it?  or  shall  I  be  so  happy  as  to  bring 
you  to  a  stand  ?  Will  you  still  go  on,  troubling  yourselves 
wifti  many  things  ?  or  will  you  resolve  for  the  future  to 


THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL.  573 

mind  the  one  thing  needful  above  all  ?  I  beseech  you  to 
come  to  some  resolution.  Time  is  on  the  wing,  and  does 
not  allow  you  to  hesitate  in  so  plain  and  important  an 
affair.  Do  you  need  any  farther  excitements  1  Then  I 
shall  try  the  force  of  one  consideration  more  contained  in 
my  text,  and  that  is  necessity. 

Remember  necessity,  the  most  pressing,  absolute  neces- 
sity, enforces  this  care  upon  you.  One  thing  is  needful, 
absolutely  needful,  and  needful  above  all  other  things. 
This,  one  would  think,  is  such  an  argument  as  cannot  but 
prevail.  What  exploits  has  necessity  performed  in  the 
world  !  What  arts  has  it  discovered  as  the  mother  of  in- 
vention !  what  labours,  what  fatigues,  what  sufferings  has 
it  undergone  !  What  dangers  has  it  encountered !  What 
difficulties  has  it  overcome !  Necessity  is  a  plea  which 
you  think  will  warrant  you  to  do  anything  and  excuse 
anything.  Reasoning  against  necessity  is  but  reasoning 
against  a  hurricane ;  it  bears  all  before  it.  To  obtain  the 
necessaries  of  life,  as  they  are  called,  how  much  will  men 
do  and  suffer !  Nay,  with  what  hardships  and  perils  will 
they  not  conflict  for  things  that  they  imagine  necessary, 
not  to  their  life  but  to  their  ease,  their  honour,  or  plea- 
sure !  But  what  is  this  necessity  when  compared  to  that 
which  I  am  now  urging  upon  you?  In  comparison  of 
this,  the  most  necessary  of  those  things  are  but  superflui- 
ties ;  for  if  your  ease,  or  honour,  or  pleasure,  or  even  your 
life  in  this  world  be  not  absolutely  necessary,  as  they  can- 
not be  to  the  heirs  of  immortality,  then  certainly  those 
things  which  you  imagine  necessary  to  your  ease,  your 
honour,  your  pleasure,  or  mortal  life,  are  still  less  neces- 
sary. But  oh  !  to  escape  everlasting  misery,  and  to  secure 
everlasting  salvation,  this  is  the  grand  necessity  !  This  will 
appear  necessary  in  every  point  of  your  immortal  duration  ; 
necessary  when  you  have  done  with  this  world  for  ever,  and 


574  THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL. 

must  leave  all  its  cares,  enjoyments,  and  pursuits  behind  you. 
And  shall  not  this  grand  necessity  prevail  upon  you  to  work 
out  your  salvation,  and  make  that  your  great  business,  when 
a  far  less  necessity,  a  necessity  that  will  last  but  a  few  years 
at  most,  set  you  and  the  world  around  you  upon  such  hard 
labours  and  eager  pursuits  for  perishing  vanities  ?  All  the 
necessity  in  the  world  is  nothing  in  comparison  of  that 
which  lies  upon  you  to  work  out  your  salvation ;  and  shall 
this  have  no  weight  ?  If  you  do  not  labour  or  contrive 
for  the  bread  that  perisheth,  you  must  beg  or  starve ;  but 
if  you  will  not  labour  for  the  bread  that  endureth  unto 
everlasting  life,  you  must  burn  in  hell  for  ever.  You  must 
lie  in  prison  if  your  debts  with  men  be  not  paid ;  but,  oh ! 
what  is  it  to  the  prison  of  hell,  where  you  must  be  con- 
fined for  ever  if  your  debts  to  the  justice  of  God  be  not 
remitted,  and  you  do  not  obtain  an  interest  in  the  righte- 
ousness of  Christ,  which  alone  can  make  satisfaction  for 
them !  You  must  suffer  hunger  and  nakedness  unless  you 
take  care  to  provide  food  and  raiment;  but  you  must 
suffer  eternal  banishment  from  God  and  all  the  joys  of  his 
presence,  if  you  do  not  labour  to  secure  the  one  thing 
needful.  Without  the  riches  of  this  world  you  may  be 
rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the  heavenly  inheritance.  With- 
out earthly  pleasures  you  may  have  joy  unspeakable  and 
full  of  glory  in  the  love  of  God,  and  the  expectation  of 
the  kingdom  reserved  in  heaven  for  you.  Without  health 
of  body  you  may  have  happiness  of  spirit ;  and  even  with- 
out this  mortal  life  you  may  enjoy  eternal  life.  Without 
the  things  of  the  world  you  may  live  in  want  for  a  little 
while,  but  then  you  will  soon  be  upon  an  equality  with 
the  greatest  princes.  But  without  this  one  thing  needful 
you  are  undone,  absolutely  undone.  Though  you  were 
as  rich  as  Croasus,  you  "are  wretched,  and  miserable,  and 
poor,  and  blind,  and  naked."  Your  very  being  becomes  a 


THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL.  575 

curse  to  you.  It  is  your  curse  that  you  are  a  man,  a 
reasonable  creature.  It  had  been  infinitely  better  for  you 
if  you  had  been  a  toad  or  a  snake,  and  so  incapable  of  sin 
and  of  immortality,  and  consequently  of  punishment.  Oh 
then  let  this  grand  necessity  prevail  with  you ! 

I  know  you  have  other  wants,  which  you  should  moder- 
ately labour  to  provide  for,  but  oh  how  small  and  of  how 
short  continuance !  If  life  and  all  should  be  lost,  you  may 
more  than  find  all  in  heaven.  But  if  you  miss  at  this  one 
thing,  all  the  world  cannot  make  up  the  loss. 

Therefore  to  conclude  with  the  awakening  and  resist- 
less words  of  the  author  I  before  quoted,  "Awake,  you 
sluggish,  careless  souls !  your  house  over  your  head  is  in 
a  flame !  the  hand  of  God  is  lifted  up !  If  you  love  your- 
selves, prevent  the  stroke.  Vengeance  is  at  your  backs, 
the  wrath  of  God  pursues  your  sin,  and  wo  to  you  if  he 
finds  it  upon  you  when  he  overtaketh  you.  Away  with 
it  speedily!  up  and  begone;  return  to  God;  make  Christ 
and  mercy  your  friends  in  time,  if  you  love  your  lives! 
the  Judge  is  coming!  for  all  that  you  have  heard  of  it  so 
long,  yet  still  you  believe  it  not.  You  shall  shortly  see 
the  majesty  of  his  appearance  and  the  dreadful  glory  of  his 
face;  and  yet  do  you  not  begin  to  look  about  you,  and 
make  ready  for  such  a  day  ?  Yea,  before  that  day,  your 
separated  souls  shall  begin  to  reap  as  you  have  sowed  here. 
Though  now  the  partition  that  stands  between  you  and 
the  world  to  come  do  keep  unbelievers  strangers  to  the 
things  that  most  concern  them,  yet  death  will  quickly  find 
a  portal  to  let  you  in ;  and  then,  sinners,  you  will  find  such 
doings  there  as  you  little  thought  of,  or  did  not  sensibly 
regard  upon  earth.  Before  your  friends  will  have  time 
enough  to  wrap  up  your  pale  corpse  in  your  winding- 
sheet,  you  will  see  and  feel  that  which  will  tell  you  to  the 
quick,  that  one  thing  was  necessary.  If  you  die  without 


576  THE    ONE    THING    NEEDFUL. 

this  one  thing  necessary,  before  your  friends  can  have 
finished  your  funerals,  your  souls  will  have  taken  up  their 
places  among  devils  in  endless  torments  and  despair,  and 
all  the  wealth,  and  honour,  and  pleasure  that  the  world 
afforded  you  will  not  ease  you.  This  is  sad,  but  it  is  true, 
sirs;  for  God  hath  spoken  it.  Up,  therefore,  and  bestir 
you  for  the  life  of  your  souls.  Necessity  will  awake  even 
the  sluggard.  Necessity,  we  say,  will  break  through  stone 
walls.  The  proudest  will  stoop  to  necessity:  the  most 
slothful  will  bestir  themselves  in  necessity :  the  most  care- 
less will  be  industrious  in  necessity:  necessity  will  make 
men  do  anything  that  is  possible  to  be  done.  And  is  not 
necessity,  the  highest  necessity,  your  own  necessity,  able 
to  make  you  cast  away  your  sins,  and  take  up  a  holy  and 
heavenly  life  ]  O  poor  souls !  is  there  a  greater  neces- 
sity for  your  sin  than  of  your  salvation,  and  of  pleasing 
your  flesh  for  a  little  time  than  of  pleasing  the  Lord  and 
escaping  everlasting  misery?  Oh  that  you  would  con- 
sider what  I  say !  and  the  Lord  give  you  understanding  in 
all  things.  Amen. 


SAINTS    SAVED    WITH    DIFFICULTY.  577 


SERMON  XXII. 

SAINTS    SAVED    WITH    DIFFICULTY,  AND    THE    CERTAIN    PER- 
DITION   OF    SINNERS. 

1  PET.  iv.  18. — And  if  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved, 
where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  appear. 

THIS  text  may  sound  in  your  ears  like  a  message  from 
the  dead;  for  it  is  at  the  request  of  our  deceased  friend* 
that  I  now  insist  upon  it.  He  knew  so  much  from  the 
trials  he  made  in  life,  that  if  he  should  be  saved  at  all,  it 
would  be  with  great  difficulty,  and  if  he  should  escape 
destruction  at  all,  it  would  be  a  very  narrow  escape;  and 
he  also  knew  so  much  of  this  stupid,  careless  world,  that 
they  stood  in  need  of  a  solemn  warning  on  this  head ;  and 
therefore  desired  that  his  death  should  give  occasion  to  a 
sermon  on  this  alarming  subject.  But  now  the  unknown 
wonders  of  the  invisible  world  lie  open  to  his  eyes ;  and 
now  also  he  can  take  a  full  review  of  his  passage  through 
this  mortal  life;  now  he  sees  the  many  unsuspected 
dangers  he  narrowly  escaped,  and  the  many  fiery  darts  of 
the  devil  which  the  shield  of  faith  repelled ;  now,  like  a 
ship  arrived  in  port,  he  reviews  the  rocks  and  shoals  he 
passed  through,  many  of  which  lay  under  water  and  out 
of  sight;  and  therefore  now  he  is  more  fully  acquainted 
with  the  difficulty  of  salvation  than  ever.  And  should  he 
now  rise  and  make  his  appearance  in  this  assembly  in  the 

*  The  person  was  Mr.  James  Hooper ;  and  the  sermon  is  dated  August 
21,  1756. 

VOL.  I.— 78 


578  SAINTS    SAVED    WITH    DIFFICULTY,  AND 

solemn  and  dread  attire  of  an  inhabitant  of  the  world  of 
spirits,  and  again  direct  me  to  a  more  •  proper  subject, 
methinks  he  would  still  stand  to  his  choice,  and  propose 
it  to  your  serious  thoughts,  that  "  if  the  righteous  scarcely 
be  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  ap- 
pear?" 

The  apostle's  principal  design  in  the  context  seems  to 
be  to  prepare  the  Christians  for  those  sufferings  which  he 
saw  coming  upon  them,  on  account  of  their  religion. 
"  Beloved,"  says  he,  "  think  it  not  strange  concerning  the 
fiery  trial  which  is  to  try  you,  as  though  some  strange 
thing  happened  unto  you:"  verse  12,  "but  rejoice  inas- 
much as  ye  are  partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings :"  it  is  no 
strange  thing  that  you  should  suffer  on  account  of  your 
religion  in  such  a  wicked  world  as  this,  for  Christ  the 
founder  of  your  religion  met  with  the  same  treatment; 
and  it  is  enough  that  the  servant  be  as  his  master,  ver.  13, 
only  he  advises  them,  that  if  they  must  suffer,  that  they 
did  not  suffer  as  malefactors,  but  only  for  the  name  of 
Christ,  ver.  14, 15.  "Yet,"  says  he,  "if  any  man  suffer 
as  a  Christian,  let  him  not  be  ashamed;"  ver.  16,  "for  the 
time  is  come  that  judgment  must  begin  at  the  house  of 
God."  He  seems  to  have  a  particular  view  to  the  cruel 
persecutions  that  a  little  after  this  was  raised  against  the 
Christians  by  the  tyrant  Nero,  and  more  directly  to  that 
which  was  raised  against  them  everywhere  by  the  sedi- 
tious Jews,  who  were  the  most  inveterate  enemies  of 
Christianity.  The  dreadful  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
which  was  plainly  foretold  by  Christ  in  the  hearing  of  St. 
Peter  was  now  at  hand.  And  from  the  sufferings  which 
Christians,  the  favourites  of  heaven,  endured,  he  infers 
how  much  more  dreadful  the  vengeance  would  be  which 
should  fall  upon  their  enemies,  the  infidel  Jews.  If  judg- 
ment begin  at  the  house  of  God,  his  church,  what  shall 


THE    CERTAIN    PERDITION    OF    SINNERS.  579 

be  the  doom  of  the  camp  of  rebels?  If  it  begin  at  us 
Christians  who  obey  the  gospel,  what  shall  be  the  end  of 
them  that  obey  it  not  ?  Alas !  what  shall  become  of 
them  ?  Them  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God,  is  a  de- 
scription of  the  unbelieving  Jews,  to  whom  it  was  pecu- 
liarly applicable;  and  the  apostle  may  have  a  primary 
reference  to  the  dreadful  destruction  of  their  city  and 
nation  which  was  much  more  severe  than  all  the  sufferings 
the  persecuted  Christians  had  then  endured.  But  I  see 
no  reason  for  confining  the  apostle's  view  entirely  to  this 
temporal  destruction  of  the  Jews;  he  seems  to  refer 
farther  to  that  still  more  terrible  destruction  that  awaits  all 
that  obey  not  the  gospel  in  the  eternal  world :  that  is  to 
say,  if  the  children  are  so  severely  chastised  in  this  world, 
what  shall  become  of  rebels  in  the  world  to  come,  the 
proper  state  of  retribution  ?  How  much  more  tremendous 
must  be  their  fate  ! 

In  the  text  he  carries  on  the  same  reflection.  If  the 
righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and 
the  sinner  appear?  The  righteous  is  the  common  cha- 
racter of  all  good  men  or  true  Christians;  and  the  un- 
godly and  sinner  are  characters  which  may  include  the 
wicked  of  all  nations  and  ages.  Now,  says  he,  if  the 
righteous  be  but  scarcely  saved,  saved  with  great  dif- 
ficulty, just  saved,  and  no  more,  where  shall  idolaters 
and  vicious  sinners  appear,  whose  characters  are  so 
opposite  ? 

The  abrupt  and  pungent  form  of  expression  is  very 
emphatical.  Where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  ap- 
pear? I  need  not  tell  you,  your  own  reason  will  inform 
you :  I  appeal  to  yourselves  for  an  answer,  for  you  are  all 
capable  of  determining  upon  so  plain  a  case.  Where  shall 
the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  appear  ?  Alas !  it  strikes  me 
dumb  with  horror  to  think  of  it :  it  is  so  shocking  and  terri- 


580  SAINTS    SAVED    WITH    DIFFICULTY,  AND 

ble  that  I  cannot  bear  to  describe  it.  Now  they  are  gay, 
merry,  and  rich ;  but  when  I  look  a  little  forward,  I  see 
them  appear  in  very  different  circumstances,  and  the  hor- 
ror of  the  prospect  is  hardly  supportable. 

St.  Peter  here  supposes  that  there  is  something  in  the 
condition  and  character  of  a  righteous  man  that  renders  his 
salvation  comparatively  easy ;  something  from  whence  we 
might  expect  that  he  will  certainly  be  saved,  and  that  with- 
out much  difficulty :  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  there  is 
something  in  the  opposite  character  and  condition  of  the 
ungodly  and  the  sinner,  that  gives  us  reason  to  conclude 
that  there  is  no  probability  at  all  of  their  salvation  while 
they  continue  as  such.  But  he  asserts  that  even  the  right- 
eous, whose  salvation  seems  so  likely  and  comparatively 
easy,  is  not  saved  without  great  difficulty;  he  is  just  saved, 
and  that  is  all :  what  then  shall  we  conclude  of  the  ungodly 
and  the  sinner,  whose  character  gives  no  ground  for  favour- 
able expectations  at  all  1  If  our  hopes  are  but  just  accom- 
plished, with  regard  to  the  most  promising,  what  shall 
become  of  those  whose  case  is  evidently  hopeless  ?  Alas  ! 
where  shall  they  appear  ? 

The  method  in  which  I  intend  to  prosecute  our  subject 
is  this : 

I.  I  shall  point  out  the  principal  difficulties,  which  even 
the  righteous  .meet  with  in  the  way  to  salvation. 

II.  I  shall  mention  those  things  in  the  condition  and 
character  of  the  righteous,  which  render  his  salvation  so 
promising  and  seemingly  easy,  and  then  show  you  that,  if 
with  all  these  favourable  and  hopeful  circumstances  he  is 
not  saved  but  with  great  difficulty  and  danger,  those  who 
are  of  an  opposite  character,  and  whose  condition  is  so 
evidently  and  apparently  desperate,  cannot  be  saved  at  all. 

I.  I  am  to  point  out  the  principal  difficulties  which  even 
the  righteous  meet  with  in  the  way  to  salvation* 


THE    CERTAIN    PERDITION    OF    SINNERS.  581 

Here  I  would  premise,  that  such  who  have  become  truly 
religious,  and  persevered  in  the  way  of  holiness  and  virtue 
to  the  last,  will  meet  with  no  difficulty  at  all  to  be  admit- 
ted into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  The  difficulty  does  not 
lie  here,  for  the  same  apostle  Peter  assures  us,  that  if  we 
give  all  diligence  to  make  our  calling  and  election  sure,  we 
shall  never  fall;  but  so  an  entrance  shall  be  ministered 
unto  us  abundantly  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  2  Peter  i.  10,  11.  But 
the  difficulty  lies  in  this,  that,  all  things  considered,  it  is  a 
very  difficult  thing  to  obtain,  and  persevere  in  real  religion 
in  the  present  corrupt  state  of  things,  where  we  meet  with 
so  many  temptations  and  such  powerful  opposition.  Or  in 
other  words,  it  is  difficult  in  such  a  world  as  this  to  pre- 
pare for  salvation ;  and  this  renders  it  difficult  to  be  saved, 
because  we  cannot  be  saved  without  preparation. 

It  must  also  be  observed,  that  a  religious  life  is  attended 
with  the  most  pure  and  solid  pleasures  even  in  this  world ; 
and  they  who  choose  it  act  the  wisest  part  with  respect  to 
the  present  state :  they  are  really  the  happiest  people  upon 
our  globe.  Yet,  were  it  otherwise,  the  blessed  conse- 
quences of  a  religious  life  in  the  eternal  world  would  make 
amends  for  all,  and  recommend  such  a  course,  notwith- 
standing the  greatest  difficulties  and  the  severest  sufferings 
that  might  attend  it. 

But  notwithstanding  this  concession,  the  Christian  course 
is  full  of  hardships,  oppositions,  trials,  and  discouragements. 
This  we  may  learn  from  the  metaphorical  representations 
of  it  in  the  sacred  writings,  which  strongly  imply  that  it  is 
attended  with  difficulties  which  require  the  utmost  exer- 
tion of  all  our  powers  to  surmount.  It  is  called  a  warfare, 
1  Tim  i.  18;  fighting,  2  Tim.  iv.  7.  The  graces  of  the 
Christian,  and  the  means  of  begetting  and  cherishing  them, 
are  called  weapons  of  war :  there  is  the  shield  of  faith : 


582  SAINTS    SAVED    WITH    DIFFICULTY,    AND 

the  hope  of  salvation,  which  is  the  helmet ;  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God,  2  Cor.  x.  4 ;  Eph.  vi. 
13,  17.  The  end  of  the  Christian's  course  is  victory  after 
conflict,  Rev.  ii.  7.  And  Christians  are  soldiers ;  and  such 
as  must  endure  hardships,  2  Tim.  ii.  3.  Now  a  military 
life,  you  know,  is  a  scene  of  labour,  hardships  and  dangers ; 
and  therefore  so^  is  the  Christian  life,  which  is  compared 
to  it  in  these  respects,  it  is  compared  to  a  race,  Heb. 
xii.  1,  2,  to  wrestling  and  the  other  vigorous  exercises 
of  the  Olympic  games,  Eph.  vi.  12;  Luke  xiii.  24,  to 
walking  in  a  narrow  way,  Matt.  vii.  14,  and  entering  at 
the  strait  gate,  Luke  xiii.  24.  This,  my  brethren,  and 
this  only,  is  the  way  to  salvation.  And  is  this  the  way  in 
which  you  are  walking  ?  Or  is  it  the  smooth,  easy  down- 
ward road  to  destruction  ?  You  may  slide  along  that  with- 
out exertion  or  difficulty,  like  a  dead  fish  swimming  with  the 
stream ;  but  oh !  look  before  you,  and  see  whither  it  leads  ! 

The  enemies  that  oppose  our  religious  progress  are  the 
devil,  the  world,  and  the  flesh.  These  form  a  powerful 
alliance  against  our  salvation,  and  leave  no  artifice  untried 
to  obstruct  it. 

The  things  of  the  world,  though  good  in  themselves,  are 
temptations  to  such  depraved  hearts  as  ours.  Riches, 
honours,  pleasure,  spread  their  charms,  and  tempt  us  to 
the  pursuit  of  flying  shadows  to  the  neglect  of  the  one  thing 
needful.  These  engross  the  thoughts  and  concerns,  the 
affections  and  labours  of  multitudes.  They  engage  with 
such  eagerness  in  an  excessive  hurry  of  business  and  anx- 
ious care,  or  so  debauch  and  stupefy  themselves  with  sen- 
sual pleasures,  that  the  voice  of  God  is  not  heard,  the 
clamors  of  conscience  are  drowned,  the  state  of  their  souls 
is  not  inquired  into,  the  interests  of  eternity  are  forgotten, 
the  eternal  God,  the  joys  of  heaven,  and  the  pains  of  hell, 
are  cast  put  of  the  mind,  and  disregarded ;  and  they  care 


THE    CERTAIN    PERDITION    OF    SINNERS.  583 

not  for  any  or  all  of  these  important  realities,  if  they  can 
but  gratify  the  lust  of  avarice,  ambition,  and  sensuality. 
And  are  such  likely  to  perform  the  arduous  work  of  sal- 
vation ?  No ;  they  do  not  so  much  as  seriously  attempt 
it.  Now  these  things  which  are  fatal  to  multitudes  throw 
great  difficulties  in  the  way  even  of  the  righteous  man. 
He  finds  it  hard  to  keep  his  mind  intent  npon  his  great 
concern  in  the  midst  of  such  labours  and  cares  as  he  is 
obliged  to  engage  in ;  and  frequently  he  feels  his  heart 
estranged  from  God  and  ensnared  into  the  ways  of  sin,  his 
devotion  cooled,  and  his  whole  soul  disordered  by  these 
allurements.  In  short,  he  finds  it  one  of  the  hardest  things 
in  the  world  to  maintain  a  heavenly  mind  in  such  an 
earthly  region,  a  spiritual  temper,  among  so  many  carnal 
objects. 

The  men  of  this  world  also  increase  his  difficulties. 
Their  vain,  trifling,  or  wicked  conversation,  their  ensnar- 
ing examples,  their  persuasions,  false  reasonings,  reproaches, 
menaces,  and  all  their  arts  of  flattery  and  terror,  have 
sometimes  a  very  sensible  effect  upon  him.  These  would 
draw  him  into  some  guilty  compliances,  damp  his  courage, 
and  tempt  him  to  apostatize,  were  he  not  always  upon  his 
guard ;  and  sometimes  in  an  inadvertent  hour  he  feels  their 
fatal  influence  upon  him.  As  for  the  generality,  they  yield 
themselves  up  to  these  temptations,  and  make  little  or  no 
resistance ;  and  thus  are  carried  down  the  stream  into  the 
infernal  pit.  Alas  !  how  many  ruin  themselves  through  a 
base,  unmanly  complaisance,  and  servile  conformity  to  the 
mode  !  Believe  it,  sirs,  to  be  fashionably  religious  and  no 
more,  is  to  be  really  irreligious  in  the  sight  of  God.  The 
way  of  the  multitude  may  seem  easy,  pleasant,  and  sociable  ; 
but,  alas,  my  brethren  !  see  where  it  ends ;  it  leadeth  down 
into  destruction.  Matt.  vii.  14. 

But  in  the  next  place,  the  greatest  difficulty  in  our  way 


584  SAINTS    SAVED    WITH    DIFFICULTY,    AND 

arises  from  the  corruption  and  wickedness  of  our  own 
hearts.  This  is  an  enemy  within;  and  it  is  this  that 
betrays  us  into  the  hands  of  our  enemies  without.  When 
we  turn  our  eyes  to  this  quarter,  what  vast  difficulties  rise 
in  our  way !  difficulties  which  are  impossible  to  us,  unless 
the  almighty  Power  enables  us  to  surmount  them.  Such 
are  a  blind  mind,  ignorant  of  divine  things,  or  that  specu- 
lates only  upon  them,  but  does  not  see  their  reality  and 
dread  importance ;  a  mind  empty  of  God  and  full  of  the 
lumber  and  vanities  of  this  world.  Such  are  a  hard  heart, 
insensible  of  sin,  insensible  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
beauties  of  holiness,  and  the  infinite  moment  of  eter- 
nal things.  Such  are  a  heart  disaffected  to  God  and 
his  service,  bent  upon  sin,  and  impatient  of  restraint. 
Such  are  wild,  unruly  passions  thrown  into  a  fer- 
ment by  every  trifle,  raised  by  vanities,  erroneous 
in  the  choice  of  objects,  irregular  in  their  motions, 
and  extravagant  in  the  degree  of  attachment.  Such 
difficulties  are  strong,  ungovernable  lusts  and  appetites 
in  animal  nature,  eager  for  gratification,  and  turbulent 
under  restraint.  And  how  strangely  does  this  inward 
corruption  indispose  men  for  religion !  Hence  their  igno- 
rance, their  security,  carelessness,  presumptuous  hopes, 
and  impenitence.  Hence  their  unwillingness  to  admit 
conviction,  their  resistance  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  their 
contempt  of  the  gospel,  their  disregard  to  all  religious  in- 
structions, their  neglect  of  the  means  of  grace,  and  the 
ordinances  of  Christ,  or  their  careless,  formal,  lukewarm 
attendance  upon  them.  Hence  their  earthly-mindedness, 
their  sensuality,  and  excessive  love  of  animal  pleasures. 
Hence  it  is  so  difficult  to  awaken  them  to  a  just  sense  of 
their  spiritual  condition,  and  to  suitable  earnestness  in  their 
religious  endeavours ;  and  hence  their  fickleness  and  in- 
constancy, their  relapses  and  backslidings,  when  they  have 


THE    CERTAIN    PERDITION    OF    SINNERS.  585 

been  a  little  alarmed.  Hence  it  is  so  difficult  to  bring 
their  religious  impressions  to  a  right  issue,  and  to  lead 
them  to  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Saviour.  In  short,  hence  it  is 
that  so  many  thousands  perish  amidst  the  means  of  salva- 
tion. These  difficulties  prove  eventually  insuperable  to 
the  generality:  and  they  never  surmount  them.  But  even 
the  righteous,  who  is  daily  conquering  them  by  the  aid  of 
divine  grace,  and  will  at  last  be  more  than  a  conqueror,  he 
still  finds  many  hinderances  and  discouragements  from  this 
quarter.  The  remains  of  these  innate  corruptions  still 
cleave  to  him  in  the  present  state,  and  these  render  his 
progress  heavenward  so  slow  and  heavy.  These  render 
his  life  a  constant  warfare,  and  he  is  obliged  to  fight  his 
way  through.  These  frequently  check  the  aspirations  of 
his  soul  to  God,  cool  his  devotion,  damp  his  courage,  en- 
snare his  thoughts  and  affections  to  things  below,  and  ex- 
pose him  to  the  successful  attacks  of  temptation.  Alas ! 
it  is  his  innate  corruption  that  involves  him  in  darkness 
and  jealousies,  in  tears  and  terrors,  after  hours  of  spiritual 
light,  joy,  and  confidence.  It  is  this  that  banishes  him 
from  the  comfortable  presence  of  his  God,  and  causes  him 
to  go  mourning  without  the  light  of  his  countenance. 
Were  it  not  for  this,  he  would  glide  along  through  life  easy 
and  unmolested ;  he  would  find  the  ways  of  religion  to  be 
ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  peace.  In  short, 
it  is  this  that  lies  upon  his  heart  as  the  heaviest  burden, 
and  renders  his  course  so  rugged  and  dangerous.  And 
such  of  you  as  do  not  know  this  by  experience,  know 
nothing  at  all  of  true  experimental  Christianity. 

Finally,  the  devil  and  his  angels  are  active,  powerful, 
and  artful  enemies  to  our  salvation :  their  agency  is  often 
unperceived,  but  it  is  insinuating,  unsuspected,  and  there- 
fore the  more  dangerous  and  successful.  These  malignant 
spirits  present  ensnaring  images  to  the  imagination,  and  no 

VOL.  I.— 74 


586  SAINTS    SAVED    WITH    DIFFICULTY,    AND 

doubt  blow  the  flame  of  passion  and  appetite.  They 
labour  to  banish  serious  thoughts  from  the  mind,  and  en- 
tertain it  with  trifles.  They  give  force  to  the  attacks  of 
temptations  from  the  world,  and  raise  and  foment  insurrec- 
tions of  sin  within.  And  if  they  cannot  hinder  the  right- 
eous man  from  entering  upon  a  religious  course,  or  divert 
him  from  it,  they  will  at  least  render  it  as  difficult,  labori- 
ous, and  uncomfortable  to  him  as  possible. 

See,  my  brethren,  see  the  way  in  which  you  must  walk 
if  you  would  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  In  this 
rugged  road  they  have  all  walked  who  are  now  safe, 
arrived  at  their  journey's  end,  the  land  of  rest.  They 
were  saved,  but  it  was  with  great  difficulty :  they  escaped 
the  fatal  rocks  and  shoals,  but  it  was  a  very  narrow 
escape;  and  methinks  it  is  with  a  kind  of  pleasing  horror 
they  now  review  the  numerous  dangers  through  which 
they  passed,  many  of  which  they  did  not  perhaps  suspect 
till  they  were  over.*  And  is  this  the  way  in  which  you 
are  walking  ?  Is  your  religion  a  course  of  watchfulness, 
labour,  conflict,  and  vigorous  exertions  ?  Are  you  indeed 
in  earnest  in  it  above  all  things  in  this  world  ?  Or  are 
not  many  of  you  lukewarm  Laodiceans  and  indifferent 
Gallios  about  these  things  ?  If  your  religion  (if  it  may 
be  so  called)  is  a  course  of  security,  carelessness,  sloth, 
and  formality — alas !  if  all  the  vigour  and  exertion  of  the 
righteous  man  be  but  just  sufficient  for  his  salvation, 
where,  oh  where  shall  you  appear  ?  Which  leads  me, 

*  There  on  a  green  and  flowery  mount, 

Their  weary  souls  now  sit ; 
And  with  transporting  joys  recount 

The  labours  of  their  feet. 
Eternal  glories  to  the  King 

That  brought  them  safely  through 
Their  lips  shall  nover  cease  to  sing, 
And  endless  praise  renew. 


THE    CERTAIN    PERDITION    OF    SINNERS.  587 

II.  To  mention  those  things  in  the  character  and  condi- 
tion of  the  righteous,  which  render  his  salvation  so  pro- 
mising and  seemingly  easy,  and  then  show,  that  if  with  all 
those  hopeful  circumstances  he  shall  not  be  saved  but  with 
great  difficulty,  that  they,  whose  character  is  directly  oppo- 
site, and  has  nothing  encouraging  in  it,  cannot  possibly  be 
saved  at  all.  And  this  head  I  shall  cast  into  such  a  form 
as  to  exemplify  the  text. 

1.  If  those  that  abstain  from  immorality  and  vice  be 
but  scarcely  saved,  where  shall  the  vicious,  profligate  sin- 
ner appear? 

It  is  the  habitual  character  of  a  righteous  man  to  be 
temperate  and  sober,  chaste,  just,  and  charitable;  to  re- 
vere the  name  of  God,  and  everything  sacred,  and  reli- 
giously observe  the  holy  hours  devoted  to  the  service  of 
God.  This  is  always  an  essential  part  of  his  character, 
though  not  the  whole  of  it.  Now  such  a  man  looks  pro- 
mising; he  evidently  appears  so  far  prepared  for  the 
heavenly  state,  because  he  is  so  far  conformed  to  the  law 
of  God,  and  free  from  those  enormities  which  are  never 
found  in  the  region  of  happiness.  And  if  such  shall 
scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  those  of  the  opposite  cha- 
racter appear  ?  Where  shall  the  brute  of  a  drunkard,  the 
audacious  swearer,  the  scoffer  at  religion,  the  unclean, 
lecherous  wretch,  the  liar,  the  defrauder,  the  thief,  the 
extortioner,  the  Sabbath-breaker,  the  reveller,  where  shall 
these  appear?  Are  these  likely  to  stand  in  the  congrega- 
tion of  the  righteous,  or  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God 
with  joy  ?  Is  there  the  least  likelihood  that  such  shall  be 
saved  ?  If  you  will  regard  the  authority  of  an  inspired 
apostle  in  the  case,  I  can  direct  you  to  those  places  where 
you  may  find  his  express  determination.  1  Cor.  vi.  9,  10. 
"  Know  ye  not  that  the  unrighteous  shall  not  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God  ?  Be  not  deceived ;  neither  fornicators, 


588  SAINTS    SAVED    WITH    DIFFICULTY,    AND 

nor  idolaters,  nor  adulterers,  nor  effeminate,  nor  abusers 
of  themselves  with  mankind,  nor  thieves,  nor  covetous, 
nor  drunkards,  nor  revilers,  nor  extortioners,  shall  inherit 
the  kingdom  of  God."  So  Gal.  v.  19-21.  "The  works 
of  the  flesh  are  manifest,  which  are  these — adultery,  forni- 
cation, uncleanness,  lasciviousness,  hatred,  variance,  emu- 
lations, wrath,  strife,  heresies,  seditions,  envyings,  revel- 
lings,  and  such  like,  of  the  which  I  tell  you  before ;"  that 
is,  I  honestly  forewarn  you,  as  I  have  also  told  you  in  time 
past,  that  they  who  do  such  things  shall  not  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Rev.  xxi.  8.  "  The  fearful,  (that  is,  the 
cowardly  in  the  cause  of  religion,)  the  unbelieving,  and 
the  abominable,  and  murderers,  and  whoremongers,  and 
all  liars,  shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  which  burneth 
with  fire  and  brimstone."  You  see,  my  brethren,  the 
declarations  of  the  Scripture  are  express  enough  and  re- 
peated on  this  point.  And  are  there  not  some  of  you 
here  who  indulge  yourselves  in  one  or  other  of  these  vices, 
and  yet  hope  to  be  saved  in  that  course  ?  that  is,  you  hope 
your  Bible  and  your  religion  too  are  false ;  for  it  is  only 
on  that  supposition  that  your  hope  of  salvation  can  be 
accomplished.  Alas !  will  you  venture  your  eternal  all 
upon  the  truth  of  such  a  blasphemous  supposition  as  this? 
But, 

2.  If  those  that  conscientiously  perform  the  duties  of 
religion  be  scarcely  saved,  where  shall  the  neglecters  of 
them  appear? 

The  righteous  are  characterized  as  persons  that  honestly 
endeavour  to  perform  all  the  duties  they  owe  to  God. 
They  devoutly  read  and  hear  his  word,  and  make  divine 
things  their  study ;  they  are  no  strangers  to  the  throne  of 
of  grace ;  they  live  a  life  of  prayer  in  their  retirements, 
and  in  a  social  capacity.  They  make  their  families  little 
churches,  in  which  divine  worship  is  solemnly  performed. 


THE    CERTAIN    PERDITION    OF    SINNERS.  589 

Let  others  do  as  they  will ;  as  for  them  and  their  houses, 
like  Joshua,  they  will  serve  the  Lord :  Josh.  xxiv.  15. 
They  gratefully  commemorate  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
and  give  themselves  up  to  him  at  his  table ;  and  seriously 
improve  all  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel.  In  short,  like 
Zacharias  and  Elizabeth,  they  walk  in  all  the  command- 
ments and  ordinances  of  God,  blameless :  Luke  i.  6.  This 
is  their  prevailing  and  habitual  character.  And  there  is 
something  in  this  character  that  gives  reason  to  presume 
they  will  be  saved ;  for  they  have  now  a  relish  for  the 
service  of  God,  in  which  the  happiness  of  heaven  consists ; 
they  are  training  up  in  the  humble  forms  of  devotion  in 
the  church  below,  for  the  more  exalted  employments  of 
the  church  triumphant  on  high.  Now  if  persons  of  this 
character  are  but  scarcely  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly 
appear,  who  persist  in  the  wilful  neglect  of  these  known 
duties  of  religion  ?  Can  they  be  saved  who  do  not  so 
much  as  use  the  means  of  salvation  1  Can  those  who  do 
not  study  their  Bible,  the  only  directory  to  eternal  life, 
expect  to  find  the  way  thither?  Can  prayerless  souls  re- 
ceive answers  to  prayer?  Will  all  the  bliss  of  heaven  be 
thrown  away  upon  such  as  do  not  think  it  worth  their 
while  importunately  to  ask  it?  Are  they  likely  to  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  First- 
born in  heaven,  who  do  not  endeavour  to  make  their 
families  little  circles  of  religion  here  upon  earth  ?  In  a 
word,  are  they  likely  to  join  for  ever  in  the  devotions  of 
the  heavenly  state,  who  do  not  accustom  themselves  to 
these  sacred  exercises  in  this  preparatory  state  ?  Will  you 
venture  your  souls  upon  it  that  you  shall  be  saved,  not- 
withstanding these  improbabilities,  or  rather  impossibilities  ? 
Alas!  are  there  any  of  you  that  have  no  better  hopes  of 
heaven  than  these?  Where,  then,  will  you  appear? 
3.  If  they  that  are  more  than  externally  moral  and  re- 


590  SAINTS    SAVED    WITH    DIFFICULTY,    AXD 

ligious  in  their  conduct,  that  have  been  born  again,  created 
in  Christ  Jesus  to  good  works,  as  every  man  that  is  truly 
righteous  has  been;  if  such,  I  say,  be  but  scarcely  saved, 
where  shall  they  appear  who  rest  in  their  mere  outward 
.morality,  their  proud  self-righteous  virtue,  and  their  re- 
ligious formalities,  and  have  never  been  made  new  creatures, 
never  had  the  inward  principles  of  action  changed  by  the 
power  of  God,  and  the  inbred  disorders  of  the  heart 
rectified?  Where  shall  they  appear  who  have  nothing 
but  a  self-sprung  religion,  the  genuine  offspring  of  de- 
generate nature,  and  never  had  a  supernatural  principle 
of  grace  implanted  in  their  souls?  Has  that  solemn  as- 
severation of  the  Amen,  the  faithful  and  true  witness,  lost 
all  its  force,  and  become  falsehood  in  our  age  and  country  ? 
"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God:"  John  iii.  3. 
Is  there  no  weight  in  such  apostolic  declarations  as  these  ? 
"  If  any  man  be  in  Christ  he  is  a  new  creature ;  old  things 
are  passed  away;  behold  all  things  are  become  new.  And 
all  things  are  of  God:"  2  Cor.  v.  17.  "Neither  circum- 
cision availeth  any  thing  nor  uncircumcision :"  Gal.  vi. 
15  :  that  is  to  say,  a  conformity  to  the  rituals  of  the  Jewish 
or  Christian  religion  availeth  nothing,  but  the  new  creature. 
Can  men  flatter  themselves  they  shall  be  saved  by  the 
Christian  religion,  in  opposition  to  these  plain,  strong, 
and  repeated  declarations  of  the  Christian  revelation  ? 
And  yet,  are  there  not  many  here  who  are  entirely  igno- 
rant of  this  renovation  of  the  temper  of  their  mind,  of  this 
inward,  heaven-born  religion  ? 

4.  If  they  that  are  striving  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate 
and  pressing  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  do  but  just  ob- 
tain admission  ;  if  they  who  forget  the  things  that  are  be- 
hind, and  reach  after  those  that  are  before  them,  and  press 
with  all  their  might  towards  the  goal,  do  scarcely  obtain 


THE    CERTAIN    PERDITION    OF    SINNERS.  591 

the  prize,  what  shall  become  of  those  lukewarm,  careless, 
formal,  presumptuous  professors  of  Christianity  who  are 
so  numerous  among  us  ?  Where  shall  they  appear  who 
have  but  a  form  of  godliness  without  the  power,  2  Tim. 
iii.  5;  and  have  no  spiritual  life  in  their  religion,  but  only 
a  name  to  live?  Rev.  iii.  1.  If  those  whose  hearts  are 
habitually  solicitous  about  their  eternal  state,  who  labour 
in  earnest  for  the  immortal  bread,  who  pray  with  unutter- 
able groans,  Rom.  viii.  26 ;  who,  in  short,  make  the  care 
of  their  souls  the  principal  business  of  their  life,  and  in 
some  measure  proportion  their  industry  and  earnestness 
to  the  importance  and  difficulty  of  the  work;  if  such  are 
but  scarcely  saved,  with  all  their  labour  and  pains,  where 
shall  they  appear  who  are  at  ease  in  Zion,  Amos  vi.  1, 
whose  religion  is  but  a  mere  indilFerency,  a  thing  by-the- 
by  with  them?  If  we  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  unless  our  righteousness  exceed  that  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  Matt.  v.  20,  where  shall  they  appear  whose 
righteousness  is  far  short  of  theirs?  And  are  there  not 
many  such  in  this  assembly?  Alas!  my  brethren,  where 
do  you  expect  to  appear  ? 

5.  If  they  that  have  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  which  is 
the  grand  condition  of  salvation,  be  but  scarcely  saved, 
where  shall  the  unbeliever  appear  ? 

Faith  in  Christ  is  an  essential  ingredient  in  the  character 
of  a  righteous  man ;  and  faith  cannot  be  implanted  in  our 
hearts  till  we  have  been  made  deeply  sensible  of  our  sins, 
of  our  condemnation  by  the  law  of  God,  and  our  utter 
inability  to  procure  pardon  and  salvation  by  the  merit  of 
our  repentance,  reformation,  or  any  thing  we  can  do. 
And  when  we  are  reduced  to  this  extremity,  then  we  shall 
listen  with  eager  ears  to  the  proposal  of  a  Saviour.  And 
when  we  see  his  glory  and  sufficiency,  and  cast  our  guilty 
souls  upon  him;  when  we  submit  to  his  commands,  depend 


592  SAINTS    SAVED    WITH    DIFFICULTY,  AND 

entirely  upon  his  atonement,  and  give  up  ourselves  to  God 
through  him,  then  we  believe.  Now,  if  they  who  thus 
believe,  to  whom  salvation  is  so  often  ensured,  be  not  saved 
but  with  great  difficulty,  where  shall  those  appear  who 
never  have  experienced  those  exercises  which  are  the 
antecedents  or  constituents  of  saving  faith?  who  have 
never  seen  their  own  guilt  and  helplessness  in  an  affecting 
light;  who  have  never  seen  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  who  have  never  submitted  to  him  as  their 
Prophet,  Priest,  and  King,  and  who  do  not  live  in  the 
flesh  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God?  Alas!  are  they  likely 
to  be  saved  who  are  destitute  of  the  grand  pre-requisite 
of  salvation?  And  yet,  is  not  this  the  melancholy  case 
of  some  of  you  ?  You  may  not  be  avowed  unbelievers ; 
you  may  believe  there  is  one  God,  and  that  Jesus  is  the 
true  Messiah :  in  this  you  do  well,  but  still  it  is  no  mighty 
attainment,  for  the  devils  also  believe  and  tremble,  and 
you  may  have  this  speculative  faith,  and  yet  be  wholly 
destitute  of  the  faith  of  the  operation  of  God,  the  precious 
faith  of  God's  elect;  that  faith  which  purifies  the  heart, 
produces  good  works,  and  unites  the  soul  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Certainly  the  having  or  not  having  of  such  a  faith,  must 
make  a  great  difference  in  a  man's  character,  and  must  be 
followed  by  a  proportionally  different  doom.  And  if  they 
that  have  it  be  but  scarcely  saved,  I  appeal  to  yourselves, 
can  they  be  saved  at  all  who  have  it  not  ? 

6.  If  true  penitents  be  scarcely  saved,  where  shall  the 
impenitent  appear? 

It  is  the  character  of  the  righteous  that  he  is  deeply 
affected  with  sorrow  for  his  sins  in  heart  and  practice ; 
that  he  hates  them  without  exception  with  an  implacable 
enmity;  that  he  strives  against  them,  and  would  resist  them 
even  unto  blood;  that  his  repentance  is  attended  with 
reformation,  and  that  he  forsakes  those  things  for  the  com- 


THE    CERTAIN    PERDITION    OF    SINNERS.  593 

mission  of  which  his  heart  is  broken  with  sorrows.  Now, 
repentance  appears  evidently  to  the  common  reason  of 
mankind  a  hopeful  preparative  for  acceptance  with  God 
and  eternal  happiness;  and  therefore  if  they  who  repent 
are  saved  with  great  difficulty,  where  shall  they  appear 
who  persist  impenitent  in  sin?  Where  shall  they  appear 
who  have  hard,  unbroken  hearts  in  their  breasts,  who  are 
insensible  of  the  evil  of  sin,  who  indulge  themselves  in  it, 
and  cannot  be  persuaded  to  forsake  it?  Can  you  be  at 
any  loss  to  know  the  doom  of  such,  after  Christ  has  told 
us  with  his  own  lips,  which  never  pronounced  a  harsh 
censure?  Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish. 
Luke  xiii.  3,  5.  And  are  there  not  some  of  this  cha- 
racter in  this  assembly?  Alas!  there  is  not  the  least 
likelihood,  or  even  possibility  of  your  salvation  in  such  a 
condition. 

7.  The  righteous  man  has  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad 
in  his  heart,  and  it  produces  the  usual  sentiments  and 
conduct  of  love  towards  him.  God  is  dearer  to  him  than 
all  other  things  in  heaven  and  earth :  the  strength  of  his 
heart,  and  his  portion  for  ever.  Psalm  Ixxiii.  25,  26.  His 
affectionate  thoughts  fix  upon  him,  Psalm  Ixiii.  6 ;  he 
rejoices  in  the  light  of  his  countenance,  Psalm  iv.  7 ;  and 
longs  and  languishes  for  him  in  his  absence,  Psalm  xlii.  1, 
2,  and  Ixiii.  1;  Cant.  iii.  1.  His  love  is  a  powerful  prin- 
ciple of  willing  obedience,  and  carries  him  to  keep  his 
commandments.  1  John  v.  3.  He  delights  in  the  law  and 
service  of  God,  and  in  communion  with  him  in  his  ordi- 
nances. Now,  such  a  principle  of  love  is  a  very  hopeful 
preparative  for  heaven,  the  region  of  love,  and  for  the  en- 
joyment of  God.  Such  a  one  would  take  pleasure  in  him 
and  in  his  service,  and  therefore  he  certainly  shall  never 
be  excluded.  But  if  even  such  are  but  scarcely  saved, 

where  shall  they  appear  who  are  destitute  of  the  love  of 
VOL.  I.— 75 


594  SAINTS    SAVED    WITH    DIFFICULTY,  AND 

God  ?  There  are  few  indeed  but  pretend  to  be  lovers  of 
God,  but  their  love  has  not  the  inseparable  properties  of 
that  sacred  passion.  Their  pretence  to  it  is  an  absurdity, 
and  if  put  into  language,  would  be  such  jargon  as  this, 
"  Lord,  I  love  thee  above  all  things,  though  I  hardly  ever 
affectionately  think  of  thee ;  I  love  thee  above  all,  though 
I  am  not  careful  to  please  thee;  I  love  thee  above  all, 
though  my  conduct  towards  thee  is  quite  the  reverse  of 
what  it  is  towards  one  I  love."  Will  such  an  inconsis- 
tency as  this  pass  for  genuine  supreme  love  to  God,  when 
it  will  not  pass  for  common  friendship  among  men?  No, 
such  have  not  the  least  spark  of  that  heavenly  fire  in  their 
breasts,  for  their  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God.  And 
are  these  likely  to  be  saved?  likely  to  be  admitted  into 
the  region  of  love,  where  there  is  not  one  cold  or  disloyal 
heart  ?  likely  to  be  happy  in  the  presence  and  service  of 
that  God  to  whom  they  are  disaffected  ?  Alas !  no. 
Where,  then,  shall  they  appear?  Oh!  in  what  forlorn, 
remote  region  of  eternal  exile  from  the  blessed  God ! 

I  shall  now  conclude  with  a  few  reflections.  1.  You 
may  hence  see  the  work  of  salvation  is  not  that  easy  trifling 
thing  which  many  take  it  to  be.  They  seem  mighty  cau- 
tious of  laying  out  too  much  pains  upon  it ;  and  they  cannot 
bear  that  people  should  make  so  much  ado,  and  keep  such 
a  stir  and  noise  about  it.*  For  their  part,  they  hope  to 
go  to  heaven  as  well  as  the  best  of  them,  without  all  this 
preciseness  and  upon  these  principles  they  act.  They 
think  they  can  never  be  too  much  in  earnest,  or  too  labo- 
rious in  the  pursuit  of  earthly  things;  but  religion  is  a 
matter  by-the-by  with  them ;  only  the  business  of  an  hour 
once  a  week.  But  have  these  learned  their  religion  from 
Christ  the  founder  of  it,  or  from  his  apostles  whom  he  ap- 

*  I  here  affect  this  low  style  on  purpose  to  represent  more  exactly  the  sen- 
timents of  such  careless  sinners  in  their  own  usual  language. 


THE   CERTAIN    PERDITION    OF    SINNERS.  595 

pointed  teachers  of  it?  No ;  they  have  formed  some  easy 
system  from  their  own  imaginations  suited  to  their  depraved 
taste,  indulgent  to  their  sloth  and  carnality,  and  favourable 
to  their  lusts,  and  this  they  call  Christianity.  But  you 
have  seen  this  is  not  the  religion  of  the  Bible ;  this  is  not 
the  way  to  life  laid  out  by  God,  but  it  is  the  smooth  down- 
ward road  to  destruction.  Therefore, 

2.  Examine  yourselves  to  which  class  you  belong,  whe- 
ther to  that  of  the  righteous,  who  shall  be  saved,  though 
with  difficulty,  or  to  that  of  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner, 
who  must  appear  in  a  very  different  situation.     To  deter- 
mine this  important  inquiry,  recollect  the  sundry  parts  of 
the  righteous  man's  character  which  I  have  briefly  de- 
scribed, and  see  whether  they  belong  to  you.     Do  you 
carefully  abstain  from  vice  and  immorality  ?     Do  you  make 
conscience  of  every  duty  of  religion.     Have  you  ever 
been  born  again  of  God,  and  made  more  than  externally 
religious?     Are  you  sensible  of  the  difficulties  in  your 
way  from  Satan,  the  world,  and  the  flesh?     And  do  you 
exert  yourselves  as  in  a  field  of  battle  or  in  a  race?     Do 
you  work  out  your  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,  and 
press  into  the  kingdom  of  God?     Are  you  true  believers, 
penitents,  and  lovers  of  God?     Are  these  or  the  contrary 
the  constituents  of  your  habitual  character?     I  pray  you, 
make  an  impartial  trial,  for  much  depends  upon  it. 

3.  If  this  be  your  habitual  character,  be  of  good  cheer, 
for  you  shall  be  saved,  though  with  difficulty.     Be  not  dis- 
couraged when  you  fall  into  fiery  trials,  for  they  are  no 
strange  things  in  the  present  state.     All  that  have  walked 
in  the  same  narrow  road  before  you  have  met  with  them, 
but  now  they  are  safe  arrived  in  their  eternal  home.     Let 
your  dependence  be  upon  the  aids  of  divine  grace  to  bear 
you  through,  and  you  will  overcome  at  last.     But, 

4.  If  your  character  be  that  of  the  ungodly  and  the 


SAINTS    SAVED    WITH    DIFFICULTY. 

sinner,  pause  and  think,  where  shall  you  appear  at  last? 
When,  like  our  deceased  friend,  you  leave  this  mortal  state, 
and  launch  into  regions  unknown,  where  will  you  then  ap- 
pear? Must  it  not  be  in  the  region  of  sin,  which  is  your 
element  now?  in  the  society  of  the  devils,  whom  you  resem- 
ble in  temper,  and  imitate  in  conduct?  among  the  trem- 
bling criminals  at  the  left  hand  of  the  Judge,  where  the 
ungodly  and  sinners  shall  all  be  crowded?  If  you  con- 
tinue such  as  you  now  are,  have  you  any  reason  at  all  to 
hope  for  a  more  favourable  doom  ? 

I  shall  conclude  with  a  reflection  to  exemplify  the  con- 
text in  another  view,  that  is,  "  If  judgment  begin  at  the 
house  of  God,  what  shall  be  the  end  of  them  that  obey 
not  the  gospel?  If  the  righteous,  the  favourites  of  hea- 
ven, suffer  so  much  in  this  world,  what  shall  sinners,  with 
whom  God  is  angry  every  day,  and  who  are  vessels  of 
wrath  fitted  for  destruction,  what  shall  they  suffer  in  the 
eternal  world,  the  proper  place  for  rewards  and  punish- 
ments, and  where  an  equitable  Providence  deals  with  every 
man  according  to  his  works?  If  the  children  are  chas- 
tised with  various  calamities,  and  even  die  in  common  with 
the  rest  of  mankind,  what  shall  be  the  doom  of  enemies 
and  rebels?  If  those  meet  with  so  many  difficulties  in 
the  pursuit  of  salvation,  what  shall  these  suffer  in  enduring 
damnation  ?  If  the  infernal  powers  are  permitted  to  worry 
Christ's  sheep,  how  will  they  rend  and  tear  the  wicked  as 
their  proper  prey?  Oh  that  you  may  in  this  your  day 
know  the  things  that  belong  to  your  peace,  before  they  are 
for  ever  hid  from  your  eyes.  Luke  xix  42. 


INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE    URGED.  597 


SERMON  XXIII. 

INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE   URGED   FROM    ITS   SHORTNESS    AND 

VANITY.* 

1  COR.  vii.  29,  30,  31. — But  this  I  say,  brethren,  the  time 
is  short.  It  remaineth,  that  both  they  that  have  wives 
be  as  though  they  had  none ;  and  they  that  weep,  as 
though  they  wept  not  ;  and  they  that  rejoice,  as  though 
they  rejoiced  not ;  and  they  that  buy,  as  though  they 
possessed  not ;  and  they  that  use  this  world,  as  not 
abusing  it.  For  the  fashion  of  this  world  passeth 
away. 

A  CREATURE  treading  every  moment  upon  the  slippery 
brink  of  the  grave,  and  ready  every  moment  to  shoot  the 
gulf  of  eternity,  and  launch  away  to  some  unknown  coast, 
ought  to  stand  always  in  the  posture  of  serious  expecta- 
tion ;  ought  every  day  to  be  in  his  own  mind  taking  leave 
of  this  world,  breaking  off  the  connections  of  his  heart 
from  it,  and  preparing  for  his  last  remove  into  that  world 
in  which  he  must  reside,  not  for  a  few  months  or  years  as 
in  this,  but  through  a  boundless  everlasting  duration.  Such 
a  situation  requires  habitual,  constant  thoughtfulness,  ab- 
straction from  the  world,  and  serious  preparation  for  death 
and  eternity.  But  when  we  are  called,  as  we  frequently 
are,  to  perform  the  last  sad  offices  to  our  friends  and  neigh- 
bours who  have  taken  their  flight  a  little  before  us ;  when 
the  solemn  pomp  and  horrors  of  death  strike  our  senses, 

*  This  sermon  is  dated,  at  Mr.  Thompson's  funeral,  February  16,  1759. 


598  INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE    URGED 

then  certainly  it  becomes  us  to  be  unusually  thoughtful 
and  serious.  Dying  beds,  the  last  struggles  and  groans  of 
dissolving  nature,  pale,  cold,  ghastly  corpses : 

"  The  knell,  the  shroud,  the  mattock,  and  the  grave  : 
The  deep  damp  vault,  the  darkness  and  the  worm  ;" 

these  are  very  alarming  monitors  of  our  own  mortality : 
these  out-preach  the  loudest  preacher;  and  they  must  be 
deep  and  senseless  rocks,  and  not  men,  who  do  not  hear 
and  feel  their  voice.  Among  the  numberless  instances  of 
the  divine  skill  in  bringing  good  out  of  evil,  this  is  one, 
that  past  generations  have  sickened  and  died  to  warn  their 
successors.  One  here  and  there  also  is  singled  out  of  our 
neighbourhood  or  families,  and  made  an  example,  a  me- 
mento mori,  to  us  that  survive,  to  rouse  us  out  of  our  stupid 
sleep,  to  give  us  the  signal  of  the  approach  of  the  last 
enemy,  death,  to  constrain  us  to  let  go  our  eager  grasp  of 
this  vain  world,  and  set  us  upon  looking  out  and  preparing 
for  another.  And  may  I  hope  my  hearers  are  come  here 
to-day  determined  to  make  this  improvement  of  this  me- 
lancholy occasion,  and  to  gain  this  great  advantage  from 
our  loss?  To  this  I  call  you  as  with  a  voice  from  the 
grave ;  and  therefore  he  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear. 
One  great  reason  of  men's  excessive  attachment  to  the 
present  state,  and  their  stupid  neglect  of  the  concerns  of 
eternity,  is  their  forming  too  high  an  estimate  of  the  affairs 
of  time  in  comparison  with  those  of  eternity.  While  the 
important  realities  of  the  eternal  world  are  out  of  view, 
unthought  of,  and  disregarded,  as,  alas !  they  generally 
are  by  the  most  of  mankind,  what  mighty  things  in  their 
esteem  are  the  relations,  the  joys  and  sorrows,  the  posses- 
sions and  bereavements,  the  acquisitions  and  pursuits  of 
this  life  ?  What  airs  of  importance  do  they  put  on  in  their 
view?  How  do  they  engross  their  anxious  thoughts  and 


FROM   ITS    SHORTNESS    AND    VANITY.  599 

cares,  and  exhaust  their  strength  and  spirits  !  To  be  happy, 
to  be  rich,  to  be  great  and  honourable,  to  enjoy  your  fill 
of  pleasure  in  this  world,  is  not  this  a  great  matter,  the 
main  interest  in  many  of  you?  is  not  this  the  object  of 
your  ambition,  your  eager  desire  and  laborious  pursuit? 
But  to  consume  away  your  life  in  sickness  and  pain,  in 
poverty  and  disgrace,  in  abortive  schemes  and  disappointed 
pursuits,  what  a  serious  calamity,  what  a  huge  affliction  is 
this  in  your  esteem  ?  What  is  there  in  the  compass  of  the 
universe  that  you  are  so  much  afraid  of,  and  so  cautiously 
shunning  ?  Whether  large  profits  or  losses  in  trade  be  not 
a  mightier  matter,  ask  the  busy,  anxious  merchant.  Whe- 
ther poverty  be  not  a  most  miserable  state,  ask  the  poor 
that  feel  it,  and  the  rich  that  fear  it.  Whether  riches  be 
not  a  very  important  happiness,  ask  the  possessors;  or 
rather  ask  the  restless  pursuers  of  them,  who  expect  still 
greater  happiness  from  them  than  those  that  are  taught  by 
experience  can  flatter  themselves  with.  Whether  the  plea- 
sures of  the  conjugal  state  are  not  great  and  delicate,  con- 
sult the  few  happy  pairs  here  and  there  who  enjoy  them. 
Whether  the  loss  of  an  affectionate  husband  and  a  tender 
father  be  not  a  most  afflictive  bereavement,  a  torturing 
separation  of  heart  from  heart,  or  rather  a  tearing  of  one's 
heart  in  pieces,  ask  the  mourning,  weeping  widow,  and 
fatherless  children,  when  hovering  round  his  dying-bed,  or 
conducting  his  dear  remains  to  the  cold  grave.  In  short, 
it  is  evident  from  a  thousand  instances,  that  the  enjoyments, 
pursuits,  and  sorrows  of  this  life  are  mighty  matters !  nay, 
are  all  in  all  in  the  esteem  of  the  generality  of  mankind. 
These  are  the  things  they  most  deeply  feel,  the  things 
about  which  they  are  chiefly  concerned,  and  which  are  the 
objects  of  their  strongest  passions. 

But  is  this  a  just  estimate  of  things  ?     Are  the  affairs 
of  this  world  then  indeed  so  interesting  and  all-important? 


600  INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE    URGED 

Yes,  if  eternity  be  a  dream,  and  heaven  and  hell  but  ma- 
jestic chimeras,  or  fairy  lands ;  if  we  were  always  to  live 
in  this  world,  and  had  no  concern  with  anything  beyond 
it;  if  the  joys  of  earth  were  the  highest  we  could  hope  for, 
or  its  miseries  the  most  terrible  we  could  fear,  then  indeed 
we  might  take  this  world  for  our  all,  and  regard  its  affairs 
as  the  most  important  that  our  nature  is  capable  of.  But 
this  I  say,  brethren,  (and  I  pronounce  it  as  the  echo  of  an 
inspired  apostle's  voice,)  this  I  say,  the  time  is  short ;  the 
time  of  life  in  which  we  have  anything  to  do  with  these 
affairs  is  a  short,  contracted  span.  Therefore  it  remaineth, 
that  is,  this  is  the  inference  we  should  draw  from  the 
shortness  of  time,  they  that  have  wives,  be  as  though  they 
had  none  ;  and  they  that  weep,  as  though  they  wept  not ; 
and  they  that  rejoice,  as  though  they  rejoiced  not ;  and  they 
that  buy,  as  though  they  possessed  not ;  and  they  that  use 
this  world,  as  not  abusing  it,  or  using  it  to  excess ;  for  the 
fashion  of  this  world,  these  tender  relations,  this  weeping 
and  rejoicing,  this  buying,  possessing,  and  using  this  world 
passeth  away.  The  phantom  will  soon  vanish,  the  shadow 
will  soon  fly  off;  and  they  that  have  wives  or  husbands  in 
this  transitory  life,  will  in  reality  be  as  though  they  had 
none ;  and  they  that  weep  now,  as  though  they  wept  not ; 
and  they  that  now  rejoice,  as  though  they  rejoiced  not; 
and  they  that  now  buy,  possess  and  use  this  world,  as 
though  they  never  had  the  least  property  in  it.  This  is 
the  solemn,  mortifying  doctrine  I  am  now  to  inculcate 
upon  you  in  the  further  illustration  of  the  several  parts  of 
my  text;  a  doctrine  justly  alarming  to  the  lovers  of  this 
world,  and  the  neglecters  of  that  life  which  is  to  come. 

When  St.  Paul  pronounces  anything  with  an  unusual 
air  of  solemnity  and  authority,  and  after  the  formality  of 
an  introduction  to  gain  attention,  it  must  be  a  matter  of 
uncommon  weight,  and  worthy  of  the  most  serious  regard. 


FROM    ITS    SHORTNESS    AND    VANITY.  601 

In  this  manner  he  introduces  the  funeral  sentiments  in  my 
text.  This  I  say,  brethren ;  this  I  solemnly  pronounce 
as  the  mouth  of  God :  this  I  declare  as  a  great  truth  but 
little  regarded;  and  which  therefore  there  is  much  need  I 
should  repeatedly  declare :  this  I  say  with  all  the  authority 
of  an  apostle,  a  messenger  from  heaven ;  and  I  demand 
your  serious  attention  to  what  I  am  going  to  say. 

And  what  is  it  he  is  introducing  with  all  this  solemn 
formality  ?  Why,  it  is  an  old,  plain,  familiar  truth  univer- 
sally known  and  confessed,  namely,  that  the  time  of  our 
continuance  in  this  world  is  short.  But  why  so  much  for- 
mality in  introducing  such  a  common  plain  truth,  as  this  1 
Because,  however  generally  it  be  known  and  confessed,  it 
is  very  rarely  regarded ;  and  it  requires  more  than  even 
the  most  solemn  address  of  an  apostle  to  turn  the  attention 
of  a  thoughtless  world  to  it.  How  many  of  you,  my  bre- 
thren, are  convinced  against  your  wills  of  this  melancholy 
truth,  and  yet  turn  every  way  to  avoid  the  mortifying 
thought,  are  always  uneasy  when  it  forces  itself  upon  your 
minds,  and  do  not  suffer  it  to  have  a  proper  influence  upon 
your  temper  and  practice,  but  live  as  if  you  believed  the 
time  of  life  were  long,  and  even  everlasting  ?  Oh !  when 
will  the  happy  hour  come  when  you  will  think  and  act 
like  those  who  believe  that  common,  uncontroverted  truth, 
that  the  time  of  life  is  short  ?  Then  you  would  no  longer 
think  of  delays,  nor  contrive  artifices  to  put  off  the  work 
of  your  salvation ;  then  you  could  not  bear  the  thought  of 
such  negligent,  or  languid,  feeble  endeavours  in  a  work 
that  must  be  done,  and  that  in  so  short  a  time. 

This  I  say,  my  brethren,  the  time  is  short :  the  time  of 
life  is  absolutely  short ;  a  span,  an  inch,  a  hair's  breadth. 
How  near  the  neighbourhood  between  the  cradle  and  the 
grave  !  How  short  the  journey  from  infancy  to  old  age, 
through  all  the  intermediate  stages  !  Let  the  few  among 
VOL.  I.— 76 


602  INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE    URGED 

you  who  bear  the  marks  of  old  age  upon  you  in  gray  hairs, 
wrinkles,  weakness,  and  pains,  look  back  upon  your  tire- 
some pilgrimage  through  life,  and  does  it  not  appear  to 
you,  as  though  you  commenced  men  but  yesterday  ?  And 
how  little  a  way  can  you  trace  it  back  till  you  are  lost  in 
the  forgotten  unconscious  days  of  infancy,  or  in  that  eter- 
nal non-existence  in  which  you  lay  before  your  creation ! 
But  they  are  but  a  very  few  that  drag  on  their  lives 
through  seventy  or  eighty  years.  Old  men  can  hardly 
find  contemporaries :  a  new  race  has  started  up,  and  they 
are  become  almost  strangers  in  their  own  neighbourhoods. 
By  the  best  calculations  that  have  been  made,  at  least  one 
half  of  mankind  die  under  seven  years  old.  They  are 
little  particles  of  life,  sparks  of  being  just  kindled  and  then 
quenched,  or  rather  dismissed  from  their  suffocating  con- 
finement in  clay,  that  they  may  aspire,  blaze  out,  and 
mingle  with  their  kindred  flames  in  the  eternal  world,  the 
proper  region,  the  native  element  of  spirits. 

And  how  strongly  does  the  shortness  of  this  life  prove 
the  certainty  of  another  ?  Would  it  be  worth  while,  would 
it  be  consistent  with  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the 
Deity,  to  send  so  many  infant  millions  of  reasonable  crea- 
tures into  this  world,  to  live  the  low  life  of  a  vegetable  or 
an  animal  for  a  few  moments,  or  days,  or  years,  if  there 
were  no  other  world  for  these  young  immortals  to  remove 
to,  in  which  their  powers  might  open,  enlarge,  and  ripen  ? 
Certainly  men  are  not  such  insects  of  a  day :  certainly 
this  is  not  the  last  stage  of  human  nature :  certainly  there 
is  an  eternity ;  there  is  a  heaven  and  a  hell : — otherwise 
we  might  expostulate  with  our  Maker,  as  David  once  did 
upon  that  supposition,  Wherefore  hast  thou  made  all  men 
in  vain  1  Psalm.  Lxxxix.  47. 

In  that  awful  eternity  we  must  all  be  in  a  short  time. 
Yes,  my  brethren,  I  may  venture  to  prophesy  that,  in  less 


FROM   ITS    SHORTNESS    AND   VANITY.  603 

than  seventy  or  eighty  years,  the  most,  if  not  all  this  assem- 
bly, must  be  in  some  apartment  of  that  strange  untried 
world.  The  merry,  unthinking,  irreligious  multitude  in 
that  doleful  mansion  which  I  must  mention,  grating  as  the 
sound  is  to  their  ears,  and  that  is  hell!*  and  the  pious, 
penitent,  believing  few  in  the  blissful  seats  of  heaven. 
There  we  shall  reside  a  long,  long  time  indeed,  or  rather 
through  a  long,  endless  eternity.  Which  leads  me  to  add, 
That  the  time  of  life  is  short  absolutely  in  itself,  so 
especially  it  is  short  comparatively ;  that  is,  in  comparison 
with  eternity.  In  this  comparison,  even  the  long  life  of 
Methuselah  and  the  antedeluvians  shrink  into  a  mere  point, 
a  nothing.  Indeed  no  duration  of  time,  however  long, 
will  bear  the  comparison.  Millions  of  millions  of  years  ! 
as  many  years  as  the  sands  upon  the  sea-shore  !  as  many 
years  as  the  particles  of  dust  in  this  huge  globe  of  earth; 
as  many  years  as  the  particles  of  matter  in  the  vaster  hea- 
venly bodies  that  roll  above  us,  and  even  in  the  whole 
material  universe,  all  these  years  do  not  bear  so  much  pro- 
portion to  eternity  as  a  moment,  a  pulse,  or  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye,  to  ten  thousand  ages !  not  so  much  as  a  hair's 
breadth  to  the  distance  from  the  spot  where  we  stand  to 
the  farthest  star,  or  the  remotest  corner  of  creation.  In 
short,  they  do  not  bear  the  least  imaginable  proportion  at 
all ;  for  all  this  length  of  years,  though  beyond  the  power 
of  distinct  enumeration  to  us,  will  as  certainly  come  to  an 
end  as  an  hour  or  a  moment;  and  when  it  comes  to  an 
end,  it  is  entirely  and  irrecoverably  past ;  but  eternity  (oh 
the  solemn,  tremendous  sound !)  eternity  will  never,  never, 

*  Regions  of  sorrow  !  doleful  shades  !  where  peace 
And  rest  can  never  dwell !     Hope  never  comes 
That  comes  to  all !     But  torture  without  end 
Still  urges,  and  a  fiery  deluge  fed 
With  ever-burning  sulphur  unconsum'd. — MILTON. 


604  INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE    URGED 

never  come  to  an  end !  eternity  will  never,  never,  never 
be  past! 

And  is  this  eternity,  this  awful,  all-important  eternity, 
entailed  upon  us  ?  upon  us,  the  offspring  of  the  dust  ?  the 
creatures  of  yesterday?  upon  us,  who  a  little  while  ago 
were  less  than  a  gnat,  less  than  a  mote,  were  nothing  ? 
upon  us  who  are  every  moment  liable  to  the  arrest  of 
death,  sinking  into  the  grave,  and  mouldering  into  dust 
one  after  another  in  a  thick  succession  ?  upon  us  whose 
thoughts  and  cares,  and  pursuits  are  so  confined  to  time 
and  earth,  as  if  we  had  nothing  to  do  with  anything 
beyond  ?  Oh !  is  this  immense  inheritance  unalienably 
ours  ?  Yes,  brethren,  it  is ;  reason  and  revelation  prove 
our  title  beyond  all  dispute.  It  is  an  inheritance  entailed 
upon  us,  whether  we  will  or  not ;  whether  we  have  made 
it  our  interest  it  should  be  ours  or  not.  To  command 
ourselves  into  nothing  is  as  much  above  our  power  as  to 
bring  ourselves  into  being.  Sin  may  make  our  souls 
miserable,  but  it  cannot  make  them  mortal.  Sin  may  for- 
feit a  happy  eternity,  and  render  our  immortality  a  curse ; 
so  that  it  would  be  better  for  us  if  we  never  had  been 
born ;  but  sin  cannot  put  an  end  to  our  being,  as  it  can  to 
our  happiness,  nor  procure  for  us  the  shocking  relief  of 
rest  in  the  hideous  gulf  of  annihilation. 

And  is  a  little  time,  a  few  months  or  years,  a  great 
matter  to  us  1  to  us  who  are  heirs  of  an  eternal  duration  ? 
How  insignificant  is  a  moment  in  seventy  or  eighty  years ! 
but  how  much  more  insignificant  is  even  the  longest  life 
upon  earth,  when  compared  with  eternity !  How  trifling 
are  all  the  concerns  of  time  to  those  of  immortality! 
What  is  it  to  us  who  are  to  live  for  ever,  whether  we  live 
happy  or  miserable  for  an  hour  ?  whether  we  have  wives, 
or  whether  we  have  none ;  whether  we  rejoice,  or  whether 
we  weep ;  whether  we  buy,  possess,  and  use  this  world  ; 


FROM    ITS    SHORTNESS    AND    VANITY.  605 

or  whether  we  consume  away  our  life  in  hunger,  and  na- 
kedness, and  the  want  of  all  things?  it  will  be  all  one  in  a 
little,  little  time.  Eternity  will  level  all ;  and  eternity  is 
at  the  door. 

And  how  shall  we  spend  this  eternal  duration  that  is 
thus  entailed  upon  us  ?  Shall  we  sleep  it  away  in  a  stupid 
insensibility  or  in  a  state  of  indifferency,  neither  happy 
nor  miserable  ?  No,  no,  my  brethren ;  we  must  spend  it 
in  the  height  of  happiness  or  in  the  depth  of  misery.  The 
happiness  and  misery  of  the  world  to  come  will  not  con- 
sist in  such  childish  toys  as  those  that  give  us  pleasure  and 
pain  in  this  infant  state  of  our  existence,  but  in  the  most 
substantial  realities  suitable  to  an  immortal  spirit,  capable 
of  vast  improvements  and  arrived  at  its  adult  age.  Now, 
as  the  apostle  illustrates  it,  we  are  children,  and  we  speak 
like  children,  we  understand  like  children;  but  then  we 
shall  become  men,  and  put  away  childish  things.  1  Cor. 
xiii.  11.  Then  we  shall  be  beyond  receiving  pleasure  or 
pain  from  such  trifles  as  excite  them  in  this  puerile  state. 
This  is  not  the  place  of  rewards  or  punishments,  and 
therefore  the  great  Ruler  of  the  world  does  not  exert  his 
perfections  in  the  distribution  of  either;  but  eternity  is 
allotted  for  that  very  purpose,  and  therefore  he  will  then 
distribute  rewards  and  punishments  worthy  himself,  such 
as  will  proclaim  him  God  in  acts  of  grace  and  vengeance, 
as  he  has  appeared  in  all  his  other  works.  Then  he  will 
show  his  wrath)  and  make  his  power  known  on  the  vessels 
of  wrath  who  have  made  themselves  fit  for  destruction  and 
nothing  else ;  and  he  will  show  the  riches  of  the  glory  of 
his  grace  upon  the  vessels  of  mercy  whom  he  prepared  be- 
forehand for  glory.  Rom.  ix.  22,  23.  Thus  heaven  and 
hell  will  proclaim  the  God,  will  show  him  to  be  the  Author 
of  their  respective  joys  and  pains,  by  their  agreeable  or 
terrible  magnificence  and  grandeur.  Oh  eternity !  with 


606  INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE    URGED 

what  majestic  wonders  art  thou  replenished,  where  Jehovah 
acts  with  his  own  immediate  hand,  and  displays  himself 
God-like  and  unrivalled,  in  his  exploits  both  of  vengeance 
and  of  grace !  In  this  present  state,  our  good  and  evil 
are  blended ;  our  happiness  has  some  bitter  ingredients, 
and  our  miseries  have  some  agreeable  mitigations ;  but  in 
the  eternal  world  good  and  evil  shall  be  entirely  and  for 
ever  separated ;  all  will  be  pure,  unmingled  happiness,  or 
pure,  unmingled  misery.  In  the  present  state  the  best 
have  not  uninterrupted  peace  within ;  conscience  has  fre- 
quent cause  to  make  them  uneasy;  some  mote  or  other 
falls  into  its  tender  eye,  and  sets  it  a-weeping ;  and  the 
worst  also  have  their  arts  to  keep  conscience  sometimes 
easy,  and  silence  its  clamors.  But  then  conscience  will 
have  its  full  scope.  It  will  never  more  pass  a  censure 
upon  the  righteous,  and  it  will  never  more  be  a  friend,  or 
even  an  inactive  enemy  to  the  wicked  for  so  much  as  one 
moment.  And  oh  what  a  perennial  fountain  of  bliss  or 
pain  will  conscience  then  be  !  Society  contributes  much 
to  our  happiness  or  misery.  But  what  misery  can  be  felt 
or  feared  in  the  immediate  presence  and  fellowship  of  the 
blessed  God  and  Jesus  (the  friend  of  man);  of  angels  and 
saints,  and  all  the  glorious  natives  of  heaven !  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  what  happiness  can  be  enjoyed  or  hoped 
for,  what  misery  can  be  escaped  in  the  horrid  society  of 
lost,  abandoned  ghosts  of  the  angelic  and  human  nature ; 
dreadfully  mighty  and  malignant,  and  rejoicing  only  in 
each  other's  misery ;  mutual  enemies,  and  mutual  tormentors, 
bound  together  inseparably  in  everlasting  chains  of  dark- 
ness !  Oh  the  horror  of  the  thought !  in  short,  even  a 
heathen*  could  say, 

*  Non  mihi  si  linguaa  centum  sint,  oraque  centum, 
Ferrea  vox,  omnes  scelerum  comprendere  formas, 
Omnia  pcenarum  percurere  nomina  possum. 

VIBG.  JEn.  VI.  I.  625. 


FROM   ITS    SHORTNESS   AND  VANITY.  607 

"  Had  I  a  hundred  tongues,  a  hundred  mouths, 
An  iron  voice,  I  could  not  comprehend 
The  various  forms  and  punishments  of  vice." 

The  most  terrible  images  which  even  the  pencil  of  di- 
vine inspiration  can  draw,  such  as  a  lake  of  fire  and 
brimstone,  utter  darkness,  the  blackness  of  darkness,  a 
never-dying  worm,  unquenchable  everlasting  fire,  and  all 
the  most  dreadful  figures  that  can  be  drawn  from  all  parts 
of  the  universe,  are  not  sufficient  to  represent  the  punish- 
ments of  the  eternal  world.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
eye,  which  has  ranged  through  so  many  objects,  has  not 
seen  :  the  ear,  which  has  had  still  more  extensive  intelli- 
gence, has  not  heard  ;  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart 
of  man,  which  is  even  unbounded  in  its  conceptions,  the 
things  that  God  hath  laid  up  for  them  that  love  him. 
The  enjoyments  of  time  fall  as  much  short  of  those  of 
eternity,  as  time  itself  falls  short  of  eternity  itself. 

But  what  gives  infinite  importance  to  these  joys  and 
sorrows  is,  that  they  are  enjoyed  or  suffered  in  the  eternal 
world,  they  are  themselves  eternal.  Eternal  joys !  eternal 
pains !  joys  and  pains  that  will  last  as  long  as  the  King 
eternal  and  immortal  will  live  to  distribute  them !  as  long 
as  our  immortal  spirits  will  live  to  feel  them !  Oh  what 
joys  and  pains  are  these  ! 

And  these,  my  brethren,  are  awaiting  every  one  of  us. 
These  pleasures,  or  these  pains,  are  felt  this  moment  by 
such  of  our  friends  and  acquaintance  as  have  shot  the 
gulf  before  us;  and  in  a  little,  little  while,  you  and  I  must 
feel  them. 

And  what  then  have  we  to  do  with  time  and  earth  ? 
Are  the  pleasures  and  pains  of  this  world  worthy  to  be 
compared  with  these?  "Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is  vanity;" 
the  enjoyments  and  sufferings,  the  labours  and  pursuits, 
the  laughter  and  tears  of  the  present  state,  are  all  nothing 


608  INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE    URGED 

in  this  comparison.  What  is  the  loss  of  an  estate  or  of  a 
dear  relative  to  the  loss  of  a  happy  immortality  ?  But  if 
our  heavenly  inheritance  be  secure,  what  though  we  should 
be  reduced  into  Job's  forlorn  situation,  we  have  enough 
left  more  than  to  fill  up  all  deficiencies.  What  though  we 
are  poor,  sickly,  melancholy,  racked  with  pains,  and  in- 
volved in  every  human  misery,  heaven  will  more  than 
make  amends  for  all.  But  if  we  have  no  evidences  of  our 
title  to  that,  the  sense  of  these  transitory  distresses  may 
be  swallowed  up  in  the  just  fear  of  the  miseries  of  eternity. 
Alas !  what  avails  it  that  we  play  away  a  few  years  in 
mirth  and  gayety,  in  grandeur  and  pleasure,  if  when  these 
few  years  are  fled,  we  lift  up  our  eyes  in  hell,  tormented 
in  flames !  Oh  what  are  all  these  things  to  a  candidate 
for  eternity !  an  heir  of  everlasting  happiness,  or  everlast- 
ing misery! 

It  is  from  such  convictive  premises  as  these  that  St. 
Paul  draws  his  inference  in  my  text ;  "  It  remaineth  there- 
fore that  they  that  have  wives  be  as  though  they  had  none ; 
and  they  that  weep,  as  though  they  wept  not ;  and  they 
that  rejoice,  as  though  they  rejoiced  not;  and  they  that 
buy,  as  though  they  possessed  not;  and  they  that  use  this 
world  as  not  abusing  it." 

The  first  branch  of  the  inference  refers  to  the  dear  and 
tender  relations  that  we  sustain  in  this  life.  It  remaineth 
that  those  that  have  wives,  and  by  a  parity  of  reason  those 
that  have  husbands,  parents,  children,  or  friends  dear  as 
their  own  souls,  be  as  though  they  had  none.  St.  Paul  is 
far  from  recommending  a  stoical  neglect  of  these  dear  re- 
lations. That  he  tenderly  felt  the  sensations,  and  warmly 
recommended  the  mutual  duties  of  such  relations,  appears 
in  the  strongest  light  in  other  parts  of  his  writings,  where 
he  is  addressing  himself  to  husbands  and  wives,  parents 
and  children.  But  his  design  here  is  to  represent  the  in- 


FROM    ITS    SHORTNESS   AND    VANITY.  609 

significancy  even  of  these  dear  relations,  considering  how 
short  and  vanishing  they  are,  and  comparing  them  with 
the  infinite  concerns  of  eternity.  These  dear  creatures 
we  shall  be  able  to  call  our  own  for  so  short  a  time,  that 
it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  esteem  them  ours  now.  The 
concerns  of  eternity  are  of  so  much  greater  moment,  that 
it  is  very  little  matter  whether  we  enjoy  these  comforts  or 
not.  In  a  few  years  at  most,  it  will  be  all  one.  The 
dear  ties  that  now  unite  the  hearts  of  husband  and  wife, 
parent  and  child,  friend  and  friend,  will  be  broken  for  ever. 
In  that  world  where  we  must  all  be  in  a  little,  little  time, 
they  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage ;  but  are  in 
this  respect  like  the  angels.  And  of  how  small  conse- 
quence is  it  to  creatures  that  are  to  exist  for  ever  in  the 
most  perfect  happiness  or  misery,  and  that  must  so  soon 
break  off  all  their  tender  connections  with  the  dear  crea- 
tures that  were  united  to  their  hearts  in  the  present  transi- 
tory state !  of  how  small  consequence  is  it  to  such,  whether 
they  spend  a  few  years  of  their  existence  in  all  the  delights 
of  the  conjugal  state  and  the  social  life,  or  are  forlorn, 
bereaved,  destitute,  widowed,  childless,  fatherless,  friend- 
less !  The  grave  and  eternity  will  level  all  these  little 
inequalities.  The  dust  of  Job  has  no  more  sense  of  his 
past  calamities,  than  that  of  Solomon  who  felt  so  few ;  and 
their  immortal  parts  are  equally  happy  in  heaven,  if  they 
were  equally  holy  upon  earth.  And  of  how  small  conse- 
quence is  it  to  Judas  now,  after  he  has  been  above  seven- 
teen hundred  years  in  his  own  place,  whether  he  died 
single  or  married,  a  parent  or  childless  ?  This  makes  no 
distinction  in  heaven  or  hell,  unless  that,  as  relations  in- 
crease, the  duties  belonging  to  them  are  multiplied,  and 
the  trust  becomes  the  heavier;  the  discharge  of  which 
meets  with  a  more  glorious  reward  in  heaven,  and  the  ne- 
glect of  which  suffers  a  severer  punishment  in  hell. 

VOL.  I.— 77 


610  INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE    URGED 

Farther,  the  apostle,  in  saying  that  they  who  have  wives 
should  be  as  though  they  had  none,  intends  that  we  should 
not  excessively  set  our  hearts  upon  any  of  our  dearest 
relatives  so  as  to  tempt  us  to  neglect  the  superior  con- 
cerns of  the  world  to  come,  or  draw  off  our  affections 
from  God.  We  should  always  remember  who  it  was  that 
said,  "  He  that  loveth  father,  or  mother,  or  wife,  or  chil- 
dren, more  than  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me."  "  He  that  is 
married,"  says  St.  Paul,  in  the  context,  "  careth  for  the 
things  of  the  world,  how  he  may  please  his  wife,"  verse 
33.  But  we  should  beware  lest  this  care  should  run  to 
excess,  and  render  us  careless  of  the  interests  of  our  souls, 
and  the  concerns  of  immortality.  To  moderate  excessive 
care  and  anxiety  about  the  things  of  this  world  is  the  de- 
sign the  apostle  has  immediately  in  view  in  my  text;  for 
having  taught  "  those  that  have  wives  to  be  as  though  they 
had  none,"  &c.,  he  immediately  adds,  "  I  would  have  you 
without  carefulness ;"  and  this  is  the  reason  why  I  would 
have  you  form  such  an  estimate  of  all  the  conditions  of  life, 
and  count  them  as  on  a  level.  Those  that  have  the  agree- 
able weights  of  these  relations  ought  no  more  to  aban- 
don themselves  to  the  over-eager  pursuit  of  this  world,  or 
place  their  happiness  in  it ;  ought  no  more  to  neglect  the 
concerns  of  religion  and  eternity,  than  if  they  did  not  bear 
these  relations.  The  busy  head  of  a  numerous  family  is  as 
much  concerned  to  secure  his  everlasting  interest  as  a 
single  man.  Whatever  becomes  of  him  and  his  in  this 
vanishing  world,  he  must  by  no  means  neglect  to  provide 
for  his  subsistence  in  the  eternal  world;  and  nothing  in 
this  world  can  at  all  excuse  that  neglect. 

Oh  that  these  thoughts  may  deeply  affect  the  hearts  of 
such  of  us  as  are  agreeably  connected  in  such  relations ! 
and  may  they  inspire  us  with  a  proper  insensibility  and 
indifference  towards  them  when  compared  with  the  affairs 


FROM    ITS    SHORTNESS    AND    VANITY.  611 

of  religion  and  eternity !  May  this  consideration  moder- 
ate the  sorrows  of  the  mourners  on  this  melancholy  occa- 
sion, and  teach  them  to  esteem  the  gain  or  loss  of  a  happy 
eternity  as  that  which  should  swallow  up  every  other 
concern ! 

The  next  branch  of  the  inference  refers  to  the  sorrows 
of  life.  "  It  remaineth  that  they  that  weep  be  as  if  they 
wept  not."  Whatever  afflictions  may  befall  us  here,  they 
will  not  last  long,  but  will  soon  be  swallowed  up  in  the 
greater  joys  or  sorrows  of  the  eternal  world.  These  tears 
will  not  always  flow ;  these  sighs  will  not  always  heave  our 
breasts.  We  can  sigh  no  longer  than  the  vital  breath 
inspires  our  lungs;  and  we  can  weep  no  longer  than  till 
death  stops  all  the  fountains  of  our  tears;  and  that  will  be 
in  a  very  little  time.  And  when  we  enter  into  the  eternal 
world,  if  we  have  been  the  dutiful  children  of  God  here, 
his  own  gentle  hand  shall  wipe  away  every  tear  from  our 
faces,  and  he  will  comfort  the  mourners.  Then  all  the 
sorrows  of  life  will  cease  for  ever,  and  no  more  painful  re- 
membrance of  them  will  remain  than  of  the  pains  and 
sickness  of  our  unconscious  infancy.  But  if  all  the  disci- 
pline of  our  heavenly  Father  fails  to  reduce  us  to  our  duty, 
if  we  still  continue  rebellious  and  incorrigible  under  his 
rod,  and  consequently  the  miseries  of  this  life  convey  us  to 
those  of  the  future,  the  smaller  will  be  swallowed  up  and 
lost  in  the  greater  as  a  drop  in  the  ocean.  Some  desper- 
ate sinners  have  hardened  themselves  in  sin  with  this  cold 
comfort,  "  That  since  they  must  be  miserable  hereafter, 
they  will  at  least  take  their  fill  of  pleasure  here,  and  take 
a  merry  journey  to  hell."  But,  alas  !  what  a  sorry  miti- 
gation will  this  be  !  how  entirely  will  all  this  career  of 
pleasure  be  forgotten  at  the  first  pang  of  infernal  auguish ! 
Oh !  what  poor  relief  to  a  soul  lost  for  ever,  to  reflect  that 
this  eternity  of  pain  followed  upon  and  was  procured  by  a 


612  INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE    URGED 

few  months  or  years  of  sordid  guilty  pleasure  !  Was  that  a 
relief  or  an  aggravation  which  Abraham  mentions  to  his 
lost  son,  when  he  puts  him  in  mind,  "  Son,  remember  that 
thou  in  thy  life  time  receivedst  thy  good  things  ?"  Luke 
xvi.  25.  Thou  hadst  then  all  the  share  of  good  which 
thou  ever  shalt  enjoy ;  thou  hadst  thy  portion  in  that 
world  where  thou  didst  choose  to  have  it,  and  therefore 
stand  to  the  consequences  of  thine  own  choice,  and  look 
for  no  other  portion.  Oh !  who  can  bear  to  be  thus  re- 
minded and  upbraided  in  the  midst  of  remediless  misery ! 

Upon  the  whole,  whatever  afflictions  or  bereavements 
we  suffer  in  this  world,  let  us  moderate  our  sorrows  and 
keep  them  within  bounds.  Let  them  not  work  up  and 
ferment  into  murmurings  and  insurrections  against  God, 
who  gives  and  takes  away,  and  blessed  be  his  name !  Let 
them  not  sink  us  into  a  sullen  dislike  of  the  mercies  still 
left  into  our  possession.  How  unreasonable  and  ungrate- 
ful, that  God's  retaking  one  of  his  mercies  should  tempt 
us  to  despise  all  the  rest !  Take  a  view  of  the  rich  in- 
ventory of  blessings  still  remaining,  and  you  will  find  them 
much  more  numerous  and  important  than  those  you  have 
lost.  Do  not  mistake  me,  as  if  I  recommended  or  ex- 
pected an  utter  insensibility  under  the  calamities  of  life. 
I  allow  nature  its  moderate  tears;  but  let  them  not  rise  to 
floods  of  inconsolable  sorrows ;  I  allow  you  to  feel  your 
afflictions  like  men  and  Christians,  but  then  you  must  bear 
them  like  men  and  Christians  too.  May  God  grant  that 
we  may  all  exemplify  this  direction  when  we  are  put  to 
the  trial. 

The  third  branch  of  the  inference  refers  to  the  joys  and 
pleasures  of  life.  "  The  time  is  short ;  it  remaineth  there- 
fore that  they  that  rejoice  be  as  if  they  rejoiced  not ;" 
that  is,  the  joys  of  this  life,  from  whatever  earthly  cause 
they  spring,  are  so  short  and  transitory,  that  they  are  as 


FROM    ITS    SHORTNESS    AND    VANITY.  613 

of  no  account  to  a  creature  that  is  to  exist  for  ever;  to 
exist  for  ever  in  joys  or  pains  of  an  infinitely  higher  and 
more  important  kind.  To  such  a  creature  it  is  an  indif- 
ferency  whether  he  laughs  or  weeps,  whether  he  is  joyful 
or  sad,  for  only  a  few  fleeting  moments.  These  vanishing, 
uncertain  joys  should  not  engross  our  hearts  as  our  chief 
happiness,  nor  cause  us  to  neglect  and  forfeit  the  divine 
and  everlasting  joys  above  the  skies.  The  pleasure  we 
receive  from  any  created  enjoyment  should  not  ensnare  us 
to  make  it  our  idol,  to  forget  that  we  must  part  with  it,  or 
to  fret,  and  murmur,  and  repine,  when  the  parting  hour 
comes.  When  we  are  rejoicing  in  the  abundance  of 
earthly  blessings,  we  should  be  as  careful  and  laborious  in 
securing  the  favour  of  God  and  everlasting  happiness  as  if 
we  rejoiced  not.  If  our  eternal  All  is  secure,  it  is  enough ; 
and  it  will  not  at  all  be  heightened  or  diminished  by  the 
reflection  that  we  lived  a  joyful  or  a  sad  life  in  this  pilgrim- 
age. But  if  we  spend  our  immortality  in  misery,  what 
sorry  comfort  will  it  be  that  we  laughed,  and  played,  and 
frolicked  away  a  few  years  upon  earth?  years  that  were 
given  us  for  a  serious  purpose,  as  a  space  for  repentance 
and  preparation  for  eternity  ?  Therefore,  let  "  those  that 
rejoice  be  as  though  they  rejoiced  not;"  that  is,  be  nobly 
indifferent  to  all  the  little  amusements  and  pleasures  of  so 
short  a  life. 

And  let  "  those  that  buy  be  as  if  they  possessed  not." 
This  is  the  fourth  particular  in  the  inference  from  the 
shortness  of  time,  and  it  refers  to  the  trade  and  business 
of  life.  It  refers  not  only  to  the  busy  merchant,  whose 
life  is  a  vicissitude  of  buying  and  selling,  but  also  to  the 
planter,  the  tradesman,  and  indeed  to  every  man  among 
us ;  for  we  are  all  carrying  on  a  commerce,  more  or  less, 
for  the  purposes  of  this  life.  You  all  buy,  and  sell,  and 
exchange,  in  some  form  or  other ;  and  the  things  of  this 


614  INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE    URGED 

world  are  perpetually  passing  from  hand  to  hand.     Some- 
times you  have  good  bargains,  and  make  large  acquisitions. 
But  set  not  your  hearts  upon  them ;  but  in  the  midst  of 
all  your  possessions,  live  as  if  you  possessed  them  not. 
Alas !  of  what  small  account  are  all  the  things  you  call 
your  own  upon  earth,  to  you  who  are  to   stay  here  so 
short  a  time ;  to  you  who  must  so  soon  bid  an  eternal  fare- 
well to  them  all,  and  go  as  naked  out  of  the  world  as  you 
•came  into  it;  to  you  who  must  spend  an  everlasting  dura- 
tion far  beyond  the  reach  of  all  these  enjoyments  ?     It  is 
not  worth  your  while  to  call  them  your  own,  since  you 
must  so  soon  resign  them  to  other  hands.     The  melan- 
choly occasion  of  this  day  may  convince  you,  that  success 
in  trade,  and  plentiful  estate,  procured  and  kept  by  indus- 
try and  good  management,   is  neither  a  security  against 
death,  nor  a  comfort  in   it.      Alas !    what   service   can 
these  houses  and  lands,  and  numerous  domestics,  perform 
to  the  cold  clay  that  moulders  in  yonder  grave,  or  to 
the  immortal  spirit   that   is   fled  we  know   not  where? 
Therefore  buy,  sensible  that  you  can  buy  nothing  upon  a 
sure  and  lasting  title ;  nothing  that  you  can  certainly  call 
yours  to-morrow.     Buy,  but  do  not  sell  your  hearts  to  the 
trifles  you  buy,  and  let  them  not  tempt  you  to  act  as  if 
this  were  your  final  home,  or  to  neglect  to  lay  up  for  your- 
selves treasures  in  heaven;  treasures  which  you  can  call 
your  own  when  this  world  is  laid  in  ashes,  and  which  you 
can  enjoy  and  live  upon  in  what  I  may  call  an  angelic 
state,  when  these  bodies  have  nothing  but  a  coffin,  a  shroud, 
and  a  few  feet  of  earth. 

Finally,  let  "  those  that  use  this  world  use  it  as  not  abus- 
ing it."  This  is  the  fifth  branch  of  the  inference  from  the 
shortness  of  time ;  and  it  seems  to  have  a  particular  refer- 
ence to  such  as  have  had  such  success  in  their  pursuit  of 
the  world,  that  they  have  now  retired  from  business,  and 


FROM    ITS    SHORTNESS    AND    VANITY.  615 

appear  to  themselves  to  have  nothing  to  do  but  enjoy  the 
world,  for  which  they  so  long  toiled.  Or  it  may  refer  to 
those  who  are  born  heirs  of  plentiful  estates,  and  therefore 
are  not  concerned  to  acquire  the  world,  but  to  use  and  en- 
joy it.  To  such  I  say,  "  Use  this  world  as  not  abusing 
it;"  that  is,  use  it,  enjoy  it,  take  moderate  pleasure  in  it, 
but  do  not  abuse  it  by  prostituting  it  to  sinful  purposes, 
making  provision  for  the  flesh  to  fulfill  the  lusts  thereof, 
indulging  yourselves  in  debauchery  and  extravagance, 
placing  your  confidence  in  it,  and  singing  a  requiem  to 
your  souls:  "Soul,  take  thine  ease;  eat,  drink,  and  be 
merry;  for  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  in  store  for 
many  years."  Oh !  presumptuous  "  fool,  this  night  thy 
soul  may  be  required  of  thee."  Luke  xii.  19,  20.  Do 
not  use  this  world  to  excess,*  (so  the  word  may  be  trans- 
lated,) by  placing  your  hearts  excessively  upon  it  as  your 
favourite  portion  and  principal  happiness,  and  by  suffering 
it  to  draw  off  your  thoughts  and  affections  from  the  supe- 
rior blessedness  of  the  world  to  come.  Use  the  world, 
but  let  it  not  tempt  you  to  excess  in  eating,  drinking,  dress, 
equipage,  or  in  any  article  of  the  parade  of  riches.  Reli- 
gion by  no  means  enjoins  a  sordid,  niggardly,  churlish 
manner  of  living ;  it  allows  you  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of 
life,  but  then  it  forbids  all  excess,  and  requires  you  to  keep 
within  the  bounds  of  moderation  in  your  enjoyments. 
Thus  "  use  this  world  as  not  abusing  it." 

The  apostle's  inference  is  not  only  drawn  from  strong 
premises,  but  also  enforced  with  a  very  weighty  reason ; 
"  for  the  fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away."  The  whole 
scheme  and  system  of  worldly  affairs,  all  this  marrying, 
and  rejoicing,  and  weeping,  and  buying,  and  enjoying, 
passeth  away,  passeth  away  this  moment;  it  not  only  will 
pass  away,  but  it  is  even  now  passing  away.  The  stream 

*  Karaxuptvot.    So  it  is  rendered  by  Doddridge,  and  others. 


616  INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE    URGED 

of  time,  with  all  the  trifles  that  float  on  it,  and  all  the  eager 
pursuers  of  these  bubbles,  is  in  motion,  in  swift,  incessant 
motion  to  empty  itself  and  all  that  sail  upon  it  into  the 
shoreless  ocean  of  eternity,  where  all  will  be  absorbed  and 
lost  for  ever.  And  shall  we  excessively  doat  upon  things 
that  are  perpetually  flying  from  us,  and  in  a  little  time  will 
be  no  more  our  property  than  the  riches  of  the  world  be- 
fore the  flood  1  "  O  ye  sons  of  men,  how  long  will  ye 
follow  after  vanity?  why  do  you  spend  your  money  for 
that  which  is  not  bread,  and  your  labour  for  that  which 
profiteth  not?" 

Some  critics  apprehend  this  sentence,  the  fashion  of 
this  world  passeth  away,  contains  a  fine  striking  allusion  to 
the  stage,  and  that  it  might  be  rendered,  "  the  scene  of  this 
world  passeth  away."  "  You  know,"  says  a  fine  writer 
upon  this  text,  "  that  upon  the  stage  the  actors  assume 
imaginary  characters,  and  appear  in  borrowed  forms.  One 
mimics  the  courage  and  triumph  of  the  hero ;  another  ap- 
pears with  a  crown  and  a  sceptre,  and  struts  about  with 
all  the  solemnity  and  majesty  of  a  prince ;  a  third  puts  on 
the  fawning  smile  of  a  courtier,  or  the  haughtiness  of  a 
successful  favourite ;  and  the  fourth  is  represented  in  the 
dress  of  a  scholar  or  a  divine.  An  hour  or  two  they  act 
their  several  parts  on  the  stage,  and  amuse  the  spectators ; 
but  the  scenes  are  constantly  shifting;  and  when  the  play 
is  concluded,  the  feigned  characters  are  laid  aside,  and  the 
imaginary  kings  and  emperors  are  immediately  divested  of 
their  pretended  authority  and  ensigns  of  royalty,  and  ap- 
pear in  their  native  meanness. 

"  Just  so  this  world  is  a  great  stage  that  presents  as  va- 
riable scenes,  and  as  fantastical  characters :  princes,  politi- 
cians, and  warriors,  the  rich,  the  learned,  and  the  wise; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  poor,  weak,  and  despised  part 
of  mankind  possess  their  several  places  on  the  theatre; 


FROM    ITS    SHORTNESS    AND    VANITY.  617 

some  lurk  absolutely  in  a  corner,  seldom  come  from  behind 
the  scenes,  or  creep  along  unnoticed ;  others  make  a  splen- 
did show  and  a  loud  noise,  are^adorned  with  the  honours 
of  a  crown,  or  possessed  of  large  estates  and  great  powers ; 
fill  the  world  with  the  glory  of  their  names  and  actions, 
conquer  in  the  field,  or  are  laboriously  employed  in  the 
cabinet.  Well,  in  a  little  time  the  scene  is  shifted,  and  all 
these  vain  phantoms  disappear.  The  king  of  terrors  clears 
the  stage  of  the  busy  actors,  strips  them  of  all  their  ficti- 
tious ornaments,  and  ends  the  vain  farce  of  life ;  and  being 
brought  all  upon  a  level,  they  go  down  to  the  grave  in  their 
original  nakedness,  are  jumbled  together  undistinguished, 
and  pass  away  as  a  tale  that  is  told." 

Farther :  "  Upon  the  Greek  or  Roman  theatres,  to  which 
the  apostle  alludes,  the  actors,  if  I  mistake  not,  frequently, 
if  not  always,  came  upon  the  stage  in  a  disguise,  with  a 
false  face,  which  was  adapted  to  the  different  person  or 
character  they  designed  to  assume ;  so  that  no  man  was  to 
be  seen  with  his  real  face,  but  all  put  on  borrowed  visages. 
And  in  allusion  to  this,  the  text  might  be  rendered,  '  The 
masquerade  of  the  world  passeth  away,'  pointing  out  the 
fraud  and  disguises  which  mankind  put  on,  and  the  flatter- 
ing forms  in  which  they  generally  appear,  which  will  all 
pass  away  when  the  grave  shall  pull  off  the  mask ;  and 
'  they  go  down  to  the  other  world  naked  and  open,'  and 
appear  at  the  supreme  tribunal  in  their  due  characters, 
'and  can  no  more  be  varnished  over  with  fraudulent 
colouring.' ': 

Others  apprehend,  the  apostle  here  alludes  to  some 
grand  procession,  in  which  pageants  or  emblematical  figures 
pass  along  the  crowded  streets.  The  staring  crowd  wait 
their  appearance  with  eager  eyes,  and  place  themselves  in 
the  most  convenient  posture  of  observation :  they  gape  at 

*  Dunlop's  Sermons,  Vol.  I.  pp.  212-215. 
VOL.  I.— 78 


618  INDIFFERENCE    TO    LIFE    URGED 

the  passing  show,  they  follow  it  with  a  wondering  gaze ; — 
and  now  it  is  past,  and  now  it  begins  to  look  dim  to  the 
sight,  and  now  it  disappears.  Just  such  is  this  transitory 
world.  Thus  it  begins  to  attract  the  eager  gaze  of  man- 
kind ;  thus  it  marches  by  in  swift  procession  from  our  eyes 
to  meet  the  eyes  of  others ;  and  thus  it  soon  vanishes  and 
disappears.* 

And  shall  we  always  be  stupidly  staring  upon  this  empty 
parade,  and  forget  that  world  of  substantial  realities  to 
which  we  are  hastening?  No;  let  us  live  and  act  as  the 
expectants  of  that  world,  and  as  having  nothing  to  do  with 
this  world,  but  only  as  a  school,  a  state  of  discipline,  to 
educate  and  prepare  us  for  another. 

Oh !  that  I  could  successfully  impress  this  exhortation 
upon  all  your  hearts  !  Oh !  that  I  could  prevail  upon  you 
all  this  day  to  break  off  your  over-fond  attachment  to  earth, 
and  to  make  ready  for  immortality !  Could  I  carry  this 
point,  it  would  be  a  greater  advantage  than  all  the  dead 
could  receive  from  any  funeral  panegyrics  from  me.  I 
speak  for  the  advantage  of  the  living  upon  such  occasions, 
and  not  to  celebrate  the  virtues  of  those  who  have  passed 
the  trial,  and  received  their  sentence  from  the  supreme 
Judge.  And  I  am  well  satisfied  the  mourning  relatives  of 
our  deceased  friend,  who  best  knew  and  esteemed  his 
worth,  would  be  rather  offended  than  pleased,  if  I  should 
prostitute  the  present  hour  to  so  mean  a  purpose.  Indeed, 

*  Thus  Dr.  Doddridge  understands  the  text,  Family  Expositor,  in  loc.,  and 
thus  he  beautifully  describes  it  in  his  Hyms: 

*'  The  empty  pageant  rolls  along  ; 
The  giddy  inexperienc'd  throng 
Pursue  it  with  enchanted  eyes  ; 
It  passeth  in  swift  march  away, 
Still  more  and  more  its  charms  decay, 
Till  the  last  gaudy  colours  dies." — See  HYMN  268. 

Lucian  has  the  best  illustration  of  this  passage,  in  this  view,  that  I  have 
seen.    Dialogue  XXXII.,  Murphy's  Edit. 


FROM    ITS    SHORTNESS    AND    VANITY.  619 

many  a  character  less  worthy  of  praise,  often  makes  a 
shining  figure  in  funeral  sermons.  Many  that  have  not 
been  such  tender  husbands,  such  affectionate  fathers,  such 
kind  masters,  such  sincere,  upright  friends,  so  honest  and 
punctual  in  trade,  such  zealous  lovers  of  religion  and  good 
men,  have  had  their  putrefying  remains  perfumed  with 
public  praise  from  a  place  so  solemn  as  the  pulpit;  but 
you  can  witness  for  me,  it  is  not  my  usual  foible  to  run  to 
this  extreme.  My  business  is  with  you,  who  are  as  yet 
alive  to  hear  me.  To  you  I  call,  as  with  the  voice  of  your 
deceased  friend  and  neighbour, — Prepare !  prepare  for 
eternity !  Oh !  if  the  spirits  that  you  once  knew,  while 
clothed  in  flesh,  should  take  my  place,  would  not  this  be 
their  united  voice,  "  Prepare,  prepare  for  eternity !  ye  frail 
short-lived  mortals !  ye  near  neighbours  of  the  world  of 
spirits !  ye  borderers  upon  heaven  or  hell,  make  ready, 
loosen  your  hearts  from  earth,  and  all  that  it  contains : 
weigh  anchor,  and  prepare  to  launch  away  into  the  bound- 
less ocean  of  eternity,  which  methinks  is  now  within  your 
ken,  and  roars  within  hearing !"  And  remember,  "  this  I 
say,  brethren,"  with  great  confidence,  "  the  time  is  short : 
it  remaineth  therefore,"  for  the  future — "  that  they  that 
have  wives,  be  as  if  they  had  none ;  and  they  that  weep,  as 
if  they  wept  not ;  and  they  that  rejoice,  as  if  they  rejoiced 
not ;  and  they  that  buy,  as  if  they  possessed  not ;  and  they 
that  use  this  world,  as  not  abusing  it ;  for  the  fashion  of 
this  world,"  all  its  schemes  of  affairs,  all  the  vain  parade, 
all  the  idle  farce  of  life,  "  passeth  away."  And  away  let 
it  pass,  if  we  may  at  last  obtain  a  better  country;  that  is, 
a  heavenly :  which  may  God.grant  for  Jesus'  sake !  Amen. 


620  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 


SERMON  XXIV. 

THE    PREACHING    OF  CHRIST    CRUCIFIED  THE   MEAN  OF    SAL- 
VATION. 

COR.  i.  22-24. — For  the  Jews  require  a  sign,  and  the 
Greeks  seek  after  wisdom;  but  we  preach  Christ  cruci- 
fied, unto  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block,  and  unto  the 
Greeks  foolishness;  but  unto  them  which  are  catted, 
both  Jews  and  Greeks,  Christ  the  power  of  God,  and  the 
wisdom  of  God. 

IF  we  should  consider  Christianity  only  as  an  improve- 
ment of  natural  religion,  containing  a  complete  system  of 
morality,  and  prescribing  a  pure  plan  of  worship,  it  is  a 
matter  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  worthy  of  universal 
acceptance.  In  the  one  view,  it  is  necessary  to  inform 
the  world  in  matters  of  sin  and  duty,  and  reform  their 
vicious  practices;  and  in  the  other,  to  put  an  end  to  that 
foolish  and  barbarous  superstition  which  had  over-run  the 
earth,  under  the  notion  of  religious  worship.  And  these 
ends  the  Christian  religion  fully  answers.  Never  was 
there  such  a  finished  system  of  morality,  or  such  a  spiritual 
and  divine  model  of  worship  invented  or  revealed,  as  by 
the  despised  Galilean,  and  the  twelve  fishermen  that  re- 
ceived their  instructions  from  him. 

But  this  is  not  the  principal  excellency  of  the  gospel ; 
and  did  it  carry  its  discoveries  no  farther,  alas !  it  would 
be  far  from  revealing  a  suitable  religion  for  sinners.  A 
religion  for  sinners  must  reveal  a  method  of  salvation  for 


THE   MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  621 

the  lost,  of  pardon  for  the  guilty,  and  of  sanctifying  grace 
for  the  weak  and  wicked.  And,  blessed  be  God!  the 
gospel  answers  this  end;  and  it  is  its  peculiar  excellency 
that  it  does  so.  It  is  its  peculiar  excellency  that  it  pub- 
lishes a  crucified  Christ  as  an  all-sufficient  Saviour  to  a 
guilty,  perishing  world.  It  is  its  glorious  peculiarity  that 
it  reveals  a  method  of  salvation  every  way  honourable  to 
God  and  his  government,  and  every  way  suitable  to  our 
necessities;  and  that  is,  by  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  the 
Founder  of  this  religion.  This  is  the  ground,  the  sub- 
stance, and  marrow  of  the  gospel;  and  it  is  this,  above  all 
other  things,  that  its  ministers  ought  to  preach  and  incul- 
cate. It  should  have  the  same  place  in  their  sermons 
which  it  has  in  that  gospel  which  it  is  their  business  to 
preach;  that  is,  it  should  be  the  foundation,  the  substance, 
the  centre,  the  drift  of  all. 

This  was  the  practice  of  the  most  successful  preacher 
of  the  gospel  that  ever  bore  that  commission :  I  mean  St. 
Paul.  And  in  this  he  was  not  singular;  his  fellow  apostles 
heartily  concurred  with  him,  We  preach  Christ  crucified. 
The  sufferings  of  Christ,  which  had  a  dreadful  consummation, 
in  his  crucifixion,  their  necessity,  design,  and  consequences, 
and  the  way  of  salvation  thereby  opened  for  a  guilty  world, 
these  are  the  principal  materials  of  our  preaching;  to  instruct 
mankind  in  these  is  the  great  object  of  our  ministry,  and 
the  unwearied  labour  of  our  lives.  We  might  easily 
choose  subjects  more  pleasing  and  popular,  more  fit  to  dis- 
play our  learning  and  abilities,  and  set  off  the  strong 
reasoner,  or  the  fine  orator;  but  our  commission,  as  min- 
isters of  a  crucified  Jesus,  binds  us  to  the  subject;  and  the 
necessity  of  the  world  peculiarly  requires  it.  Further, 
this  was  not  the  apostle's  occasional  practice,  or  a  hasty 
wavering  purpose;  but  he  was  determined  upon  it.  "  I 
determined,"  says  he,  "  not  to  know  any  thing  among  you, 


622  THE    PREACHING    OF   CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified  :"*  1  Cor.  ii.  2.  This 
theme,  as  it  were,  engrossed  all  his  thoughts ;  he  dwelt  so 
much  upon  it,  as  if  he  had  known  nothing  else:  and  as  if 
nothing  else  had  been  worth  knowing.  Indeed,  he  openly 
avows  such  a  neglect  and  contempt  of  all  other  knowledge, 
in  comparison  of  this :  "  I  count  all  things  but  loss,  for  the 
excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus,  my  Lord:" 
Phil.  iii.  8.  The  crucifixion  of  Christ,  which  was  the  most 
ignominious  circumstance  in  the  whole  course  of  his  abase- 
ment, was  an  object  in  which  he  gloried;  and  he  is  struck 
with  horror  at  the  thought  of  glorying  in  any  thing  else. 
"  God  forbid,"  says  he,  "  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the 
cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ!"  Gal.  vi.  14.  In  short, 
he  looked  upon  it  as  the  perfection  of  his  character  as  a 
Christian  and  an  apostle,  to  be  a  constant  student,  and  a 
zealous,  indefatigable  preacher  of  the  Cross  of  Christ. 

But  though  a  crucified  Jesus  was  of  so  much  importance 
in  a  religion  for  sinners;  though  this  doctrine  was  the  sub- 
stance of  the  gospel,  and  the  principal  object  of  the  apos- 
tle's ministry ;  yet,  as  it  was  not  the  invention  of  human 
reason,  so  neither  was  it  agreeable  to  the  proud  reason- 
ings, or  corrupt  taste  of  the  world.  The  preaching  of  the 
cross  is,  to  them  that  perish,  foolishness.  However,  there 
were  some  that  had  the  same  sentiment  of  it  with  St. 
Paul;  even  as  many  as  were  in  the  way  of  salvation. 
Unto  us  that  are  saved,  it  is  the  power  of  God,  ver.  18. 
To  such,  that  weak  and  contemptible  thing,  the  cross,  was 
the  brightest  display  of  divine  power  to  be  found  in  the 
universe. 

Mankind  had  had  time  enough  to  try  what  expedients 

*  Or  Jesus  Christ,  even  that  crucified  one.  So  Dr.  Doddridge  renders — 'fijo-oui/ 
XpurTdv  itoi  rov'ov  iaavpwiitvov.  Christ  Jesus,  and  that  under  the  most  ignomi- 
nious circumstances  possible,  viz.,  as  crucified,  was  the  principal  object  of 
his  study,  and  the  substance  of  his  preaching. 


THE   MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  623 

their  reason  could  find  out  for  the  reformation  and  salva- 
tion of  a  degenerate  and  perishing  world.  The  sages  and 
philosophers  of  the  heathen  world  had  had  a  clear  stage 
for  many  hundreds  of  years;  and  they  might  have  done 
their  utmost  without  control.  But,  alas  !  did  any  of  them, 
amid  all  their  boasted  improvements,  succeed  in  the  ex- 
periment? Or  could  they  so  much  as  find  out  a  method 
in  which  sinners  might  be  reconciled  to  their  God?  No; 
in  this  most  interesting  point,  they  were  either  stupidly 
thoughtless,  or  all  their  searches  issued  in  perplexity,  or 
in  the  most  absurd  and  impious  contrivances.  "Where  is 
the  wise  ?  where  is  the  scribe  ?  where  is  the  disputer  of 
this  world?"  Let  them  appear  and  produce  their  schemes 
upon  this  head.  But  hath  not  God  made  foolish  the  wis- 
dom of  this  world  ?  ver.  20.  Yes,  indeed,  he  has,  by  pro- 
posing a  method  most  perfectly  adapted  to  this  end,  which 
they  not  only  never  would  have  once  thought  of,  but 
which,  when  revealed,  their  wisdom  cannot  relish.  Their 
wisdom  appears  but  folly,  in  that  when  they  had  the  world 
to  themselves  about  four  thousand  years,  they  could  not, 
in  all  that  time,  find  out  any  successful  expedient  to  amend 
and  save  it.  And  now,  if  any  thing  be  done  at  all,  it  is 
time  for  God  to  do  it;  and  how  strange,  how  unexpected, 
how  mysterious  was  his  expedient !  and  yet  how  glorious 
and  effectual !  "  For  after  that,  in  the  wisdom  of  God, 
the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God,  by 
the  foolishness  of  preaching,  to  save  them  that  believe;" 
ver.  21.  This  was  the  contrivance  for  effecting  what  all 
the  wisdom  and  learning  of  the  world  could  never  effect ; 
the  plain  unadorned  preaching  of  Christ  crucified;  which, 
both  for  the  matter  and  manner  of  it,  was  counted  foolish- 
ness. 

But  how  did  the  world  bear  this  mortification  of  their 
intellectual  pride  ?     And  what  reception  did  this  bounteous 


624  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

divine  scheme  meet  with  when  revealed?  Alas!  I  am 
sorry  to  tell  you:  The  prejudices  of  their  education  were 
different:  but  they  were  unitedly  set  againt  the  gospel. 
The  Jews  had  been  educated  in  a  religion  established  by 
a  series  of  miracles;  and  therefore  they  were  extravagant 
in  their  demands  of  this  sort  of  evidence.  Notwithstand- 
ing all  the  miracles  Christ  was  working  daily  before  their 
eyes,  they  were  perpetually  asking  him,  What  sign  showest 
thou  ?  Those  that  are  resolved  not  to  be  convinced,  will 
be  always  complaining  of  the  want  of  proof,  and  demand- 
ing more,  to  vindicate  their  infidelity.  As  for  the  Greeks, 
their  prejudices  were  of  another  kind;  it  was  even  a 
proverb  among  them,  that  "miracles  were  for  fools;"* 
and  therefore  they  did  not  desire  that  sort  of  evidence. 
But  they  seek  after  wisdom.  They  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  fine  orations,  strong  reasoning,  and  a  parade  of 
learning;  and  these  were  the  evidences  they  desired  to  re- 
commend a  doctrine  to  them.  And  finding  the  doctrine 
of  Christ  crucified  had  none  of  these  embellishments,  they 
despised  and  rejected  it  as  foolishness  and  nonsense. 

The  method  of  salvation  by  the  crucifixion  of  a  sup- 
posed malefactor,  was  so  extremely  opposite  to  the  reason- 
ing, pride,  and  prejudices  of  Jews  and  Gentiles,  that  they 
could  not  bear  it.  The  Jews  expected  the  Messiah  would 
appear  as  a  victorious  temporal  prince,  who  instead  of 
falling  a  prey  to  his  enemies,  would  subdue  them  all  with 
an  irresistible  power,  and  advance  the  family  of  David  to 
universal  empire.  And  of  all  other  deaths,  that  of  cruci- 
fixion was  the  most  odious  and  abominable  to  them,  be- 
cause, according  to  the  custom  of  the  Romans,  it  was  the 
punishment  only  of  slaves;  and  by  their  own  law  it  was 
pronounced  accursed ;  for  it  is  written,  cursed  is  every  one 
that  hangeth  on  a  tree.  Gal.  iii.  13.  Deut.  xxi.  23. 

*  Qaiuara   pupoig. 


THE   MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  625 

Hence,  by  way  of  contempt,  the  Jews  called  the  blessed 
Jesus  the  hanged  man.  Nay,  this  was  a  shock  to  the  faith 
of  the  apostles  themselves,  until  their  Jewish  prejudices 
were  removed  by  better  information.  Finding  that,  in- 
stead of  setting  up  a  glorious  kingdom,  their  Master  was 
apprehended  by  his  enemies,  and  hung  upon  a  cross,  they 
had  nothing  to  say,  but,  We  trusted  that  it  had  been  he 
which  should  have  delivered  Israel :  we  simply  thought  so ; 
but  alas!  now  we  see  our  mistake.  Luke  xxiv.  21.  No 
wonder  the  cross  of  Christ  should  be  a  stumbling-block  to 
such  as  had  imbibed  such  notions  of  the  Messiah.  When, 
instead  of  the  power  of  signs  and  miracles  which  they 
were  extravagantly  demanding,  they  saw  him  crucified  in 
weakness,  they  could  not  admit  the  thought  that  this  was 
that  illustrious  character  of  an  universal  king.  They  were 
so  dazzled  with  worldly  glory,  and  so  insensible  of  their 
spiritual  wants,  that  they  had  notions  of  a  spiritual  Saviour, 
and  a  kingdom  of  grace;  nor  could  they  see  how  such 
prophecies  were  accomplished  in  one  that  only  professed 
to  deliver  from  the  slavery  of  sin  and  Satan,  and  the  wrath 
to  come.  Hence  they  stumbled  at  the  cross,  as  an  obstacle 
which  they  could  not  get  over.  When  Christ  called 
Lazarus  from  the  dead,  he  had  crowds  of  followers,  who 
attended  his  triumphant  procession  into  Jerusalem  as  a 
mighty  conqueror ;  and  when  he  had  fed  so  many  thousands 
with  a  few  loaves,  they  were  about  forcibly  to  make  him 
king;  for  they  knew  that  one  who  could  raise  his  soldiers 
to  life  after  they  had  been  killed,  and  support  an  army 
with  so  little  provisions,  could  easily  conquer  the  world, 
and  rescue  them  from  the  power  of  the  Romans.  But 
when  they  saw  him  seized  by  his  enemies,  without  making 
resistance,  or  working  a  miracle  for  his  own  defence,  they 
immediately  abandoned  him ;  and  the  hosannas  of  the  mul- 
titude were  turned  into  another  kind  of  cry,  Crucify  him, 

VOL.  I.— 79 


626  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

Crucify  him.  And  when  they  saw  him  hanging  helpless 
and  dying  upon  the  cross,  it  was  demonstrated  to  them 
that  he  was  an  impostor.  It  was  this  that  rendered  the 
preaching  of  Christ  by  his  apostles  so  unpopular  among 
the  Jews:  it  seemed  to  them  like  a  panegyric  upon  an  in- 
famous malefactor;  and  they  thought  it  an  insult  to  their 
nation  to  have  such  a  one  proposed  to  them  as  their 
Messiah.  Thus  Christ  crucified  was  to  the  Jews  a 
stumbling-block. 

As  to  the  Greeks,  who  were  a  learned  philosophical 
people,  it  seemed  to  them  the  wildest  folly  to  worship  one 
as  a  God  who  had  been  crucified  as  a  malefactor;  and  to 
trust  in  one  for  salvation  who  had  not  saved  himself. 
Their  Jupiter  had  his  thunder,  and  according  to  their 
tradition,  had  crushed  the  formidable  rebellion  of  the  giants 
against  heaven:  their  Bacchus  had  avenged  himself  upon 
the  despisers  of  his  worship ;  and  the  whole  rabble  of  their 
deities  had  done  some  god-like  exploit,  if  the  fables  of  their 
poets  were  true;  and  would  they  abandon  such  gods,  and 
receive  in  their  stead  a  despised  Nazarene,  who  had  been 
executed  as  the  vilest  criminal  by  his  own  nation  ?  Would 
they  give  up  all  their  boasted  wisdom  and  learning,  and 
become  the  humble  disciples  of  the  cross,  and  receive  for 
their  teachers  a  company  of  illiterate  fishermen,  and  a 
tent-maker  from  the  despised  nation  of  the  Jews,  whom 
they  held  in  the  utmost  contempt  from  their  ignorance, 
bigotry,  and  superstition?  No,  the  pride  of  their  under- 
standings could  not  bear  such  a  mortification.  If  their 
curiosity  led  them  to  be  St.  Paul's  hearers,  they  expected 
to  be  entertained  with  a  flourish  of  words,  and  fine  philo- 
sophic reasoning;  and  when  they  found  themselves  disap- 
pointed, they  pronounced  him  a  babbler,  (Acts  xvii.  18,) 
and  his  preaching  foolishness.  Corinth,  to  which  this 
epistle  was  sent  by  St.  Paul,  was  a  noted  city  among  the 


THE    MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  627 

Greeks,  and  therefore,  what  he  says  upon  this  head  was 
peculiarly  pertinent  and  well  applied. 

The  prejudices  of  the  Jews  and  Greeks  in  this  respect 
outlived  the  apostolic  age,  as  we  learn  from  the  writings 
of  the  primitive  fathers  of  the  Christian  church,  who  lived 
among  them,  and  were  conversant  with  them.  Trypho, 
the  Jew,  in  a  dialogue  with  Justin  Martyr,  about  a  hundred 
years  after  St.  Paul  wrote  this  epistle,  charges  it  upon  the 
Christians  as  the  greatest  absurdity  and  impiety,  that  they 
placed  their  hopes  in  a  crucified  man.  Justin,  after  long 
reasoning,  constrains  him  at  length  to  make  sundry  con- 
cessions, as,  that  the  prophecies  which  he  had  mentioned 
did  really  refer  to  the  Messiah;  and  that,  according  to 
these  prophecies,  the  Messiah  was  to  suffer.  "  But,  (says 
the  Jew,)  that  Christ  should  be  so  ignominiously  crucified; 
that  he  should  die  a  death  which  the  law  pronounces 
accursed,  this  we  cannot  but  doubt;  this  I  yet  find  a  very 
hard  thing  to  believe,  and  therefore  if  you  have  any  further 
evidence  upon  this  head,  would  willingly  hear  it."  Here 
you  see  the  cross  was  a  stumbling-block,  which  the  Jews 
could  not  get  over  in  a  hundred  years ;  nay,  they  have  not 
got  over  it  to  this  clay.  Lactantius,  about  three  hundred 
years  after  Christ's  birth,  observes,  that  the  sufferings  of 
Christ  were  wont  to  be  cast  upon  Christians  as  a  reproach ; 
it  was  thought  a  strange  and  scandalous  thing  that  they 
should  worship  a  man ;  a  man  that  had  been  crucified,  and 
put  to  the  most  infamous  and  tormenting  death  by  men.* 
A  heathen,  in  Minutius  Felix,  is  introduced  as  saying, 
"He  who  represents  a  man  punished  for  his  crime  with 
the  severest  punishment,  and  the  savage  wood  of  the  cross, 
as  the  object  of  their  worship,  and  a  ceremony  of  their 

*  Passionnem  quae  velut  opprobrium  nobis  objectari  solet :  quod  et  ho- 
ininem,  et  ab  bominibus  insigni  supplicio  affectum  et  excruciatum  colamus. 
De  ver.  Sap.  L.  IV.  c.  16. 


628  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

religion,  ascribes  a  very  proper  altar  to  such  abandoned 
and  wicked  creatures,  that  they  may  worship  that  which 
they  deserve  to  hang  upon.'1*  And  referring  to  the  many 
barbarous  persecutions  they  then  groaned  under,  he  jeers 
them !  "  See  here,"  says  he,  "  are  threatenings  for  you, 
punishments,  tortures,  and  crosses,  not  to  be  adored,  but 
endured."!  "  The  calumniating  Greek,"  says  Athanasius, 
"  ridicule  us  and  set  up  a  broad  laugh  at  us,  because  we 
regard  nothing  so  much  as  the  cross  of  Christ." 

Thus  you  see,  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  was,  of  all 
other  things,  the  most  unpopular  among  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles, and  the  most  disagreeable  to  their  taste.  A  man 
could  not  expect  to  shine,  or  cut  a  figure  as  a  man  of 
sense  and  learning,  by  making  this  the  subject  of  his 
discourses.  But  will  Paul  give  it  up,  and  display  his 
talents  upon  some  more  acceptable  theme?  This,  as  a 
fine  scholar,  he  was  very  capable  of;  but  he  abhors  the 
thought. 

"  Let  the  Jews  and  Greeks  desire  what  they  please ; 
we,"  says  he,  "  will  not  humour  them,  nor  gratify  their 
taste ;  however  they  take  it,  we  will  preach  Christ  cru- 
cified ;  though  to  the  Jews  he  should  prove  a  stumbling- 
block,  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishnesss."  And  there  are 
some  that  relish  this  humble  doctrine.  To  them  that 
believe,  both  Jews  and  Greeks,  whether  learned  or  un- 
learned, whether  educated  in  the  Jewish  or  Pagan  religion, 
however  different  their  prejudices,  or  their  natural  tastes, 
to  all  that  believe,  notwithstanding  these  differences,  Christ, 
that  is,  Christ  crucified,  is  the  power  of  God,  and  the 
wisdom  of  God.  The  wisdom  and  power  of  God  are  not 

*  Qui  hominem  ?ummo  supplicio  pro  facinore  puniturn,  et  crucis  ligna 
feralia  eorum  Ceremonias  fabulatur,  congruentia  perditis  eceleratisque  tribuit 
altaria,  ut  id  colanl  quod  merentur.  P.  9. 

f  Ecce  vobis  mince,  supplicia,  tormenta,  etiara  non  adorandse  sed  subeundse 
cruces.  P.  11. 


THE    MEAN   OF    SALVATION.  629 

the  only  perfections  that  shine  in  this  method  of  salvation 
by  the  cross;  but  the  apostle  particularly  mentions  these, 
as  directly  answering  to  the  respective  demands  of  Jews 
and  Greeks.  If  the  Jew  desire  the  sign  of  power  in 
working  miracles,  the  believer  sees  in  Christ  crucified  a 
power  superior  to  all  the  powers  of  miracles.  If  the 
Greeks  seek  after  wisdom,  here,  in  a  crucified  Christ,  the 
wisdom  of  God  shines  in  the  highest  perfection.  What- 
ever sign  or  wisdom  the  Jew  or  Greek  desires  and  seeks 
after,  the  believer  finds  more  than  an  equivalent  in  the 
cross.  This  is  the  greatest  miracle  of  power,  the  greatest 
mystery  of  wisdom  in  all  the  world. 

The  prejudices  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  were  not  only 
confined  to  the  early  ages  of  Christianity;  the  same  de- 
praved taste,  the  same  contempt  of  the  humble  doctrines 
of  the  cross  may  be  found  among  us,  though  professed 
Christians ;  some  resemble  the  Jews,  who  were  perpetu- 
ally demanding  signs;  they  affect  visions  and  impulses, 
and  all  the  reveries  of  enthusiasm,  instead  of  the  preach- 
ing of  Christ  crucified.  Others,  like  the  Greeks,  through 
an  affectation  of  florid  harangues,  moral  discourses,  and  a 
parade  of  learning  and  philosophy,  nauseate  this  sort  of 
preaching,  and  count  it  foolishness.  It  is  therefore  high 
time  for  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  to  stand  up  as  advo- 
cates for  the  cross,  and  with  a  pious  obstinacy  to  adhere 
to  this  subject,  whatever  contempt  and  ridicule  it  may 
expose  them  to.  For  my  part,  I  know  not  what  I  have 
to  do,  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  but  to  preach  Christ 
crucified.  I  would  make  him  the  substance,  the  centre, 
the  end  of  all  my  ministrations.  And  if  we,  or  an  angel 
from  heaven,  preach  unto  you  any  other  gospel — you  know 
his  doom — let  him  be  accursed.  Gal.  i.  9. 

We  are  to  consider  the  apostles  as  sent  out  into  the 
world  to  reform  and  save  the  corrupt  and  perishing  sons 


630  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

of  men,  and  the  preaching  of  Christ  crucified  as  the  mean 
they  used  for  this  important  end.  This  is  the  formal  view 
the  apostle  had  of  preaching  Christ  in  this  place,  viz.,  as 
a  mean  found  out  by  the  wisdom  of  God  to  save  them 
that  believe,  after  that  all  the  wisdom  of  the  world  had 
tried  in  vain  to  find  out  a  method  for  this  end.  This  is 
evident  from  verse  21.  After  that  the  world  by  all  its 
wisdom  knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God,  by  the  foolishness 
of  preaching;  that  is,  by  the  preaching  a  crucified 
Saviour,  which  the  world  counts  foolishness,  to  save  them 
that  believe.  This  is  the  excellency  of  this  preaching, 
this  is  the  reason  why  the  apostle  could  not  be  prevailed 
upon  by  any  motive  to  desert  it,  that  it  is  the  only  mean 
of  salvation ;  and  it  is  in  this  view  I  now  intend  to  con- 
sider it.  And  if  your  everlasting  salvation  be  of  any  im- 
portance to  you,  certainly  this  subject  demands  your  most 
serious  attention. 

I  have  been  the  longer  explaining  the  context,  because 
it  is  so  closely  connected  with  the  subject  I  have  in  view, 
and  reflects  light  upon  it.  And  I  shall  only  add,  that 
preaching  Christ  crucified  is  the  same  thing  as  preaching 
salvation  through  the  sufferings  of  Christ.  His  sufferings 
were  of  long  continuance,  even  from  his  conception  to 
his  resurrection;  and  they  were  of  various  kinds,  poverty, 
weariness  and  labour,  hunger  and  thirst,  contempt  and 
reproach,  buffeting,  scourging,  and  a  thorny  crown.  But 
there  are  two  words,  which  by  a  synecdoche  are  often  used 
in  Scripture  to  signify  all  his  sufferings  of  every  kind, 
from  first  to  last;  viz.,  his  blood  and  his  cross.  And  the 
reason  is,  the  shedding  of  his  blood,  and  the  death  of  the 
cross,  were  the  worst  kind  and  highest  degree  of  his  suf- 
ferings. In  his  crucifixion  all  his  other  sufferings  were 
united  and  centred;  this  was  a  complete  summary  and 
consummation  of  them  all;  and  therefore,  they  are  fre- 


THE    MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  631 

quently  included  under  this.  In  this  latitude  I  shall  use 
the  word  in  this  discourse;  which  I  hope  you  will  take 
notice  of,  that  no  part  of  the  meaning  may  escape  you. 

Our  inquiry  shall  be, 

What  are  the  reasons  that  the  preaching  of  Christ  cru- 
cified is,  above  all  others,  the  best,  and  the  only  effectual 
mean  for  the  salvation  of  sinners  ? 

These  reasons  may  be  reduced  under  two  general 
heads,  namely,  That  through  the  crucifixion  of  Christ, 
and  through  that  only,  a  way  is  really  opened  for  the  sal- 
vation of  sinners;  and  that  the  preaching  of  Christ  cru- 
cified makes  such  a  discovery  of  things,  as  has  the  most 
direct  tendency  to  bring  them  to  repentance,  and  produce 
in  them  that  temper  which  is  necessary  to  salvation.  Or 
in  other  words,  in  this  way  salvation  is  provided,  and  sin- 
ners are  made  fit  to  enjoy  it ;  both  which  are  absolutely 
necessary.  Our  world  is  deeply  and  universally  sunk  in 
sin.  Men  have  cast  contempt  upon  the  divine  govern- 
ment, broken  the  divine  law,  and  so  incurred  its  penalty ; 
they  have  forfeited  the  favour  of  God,  and  rendered  them- 
selves liable  to  his  displeasure.  Had  mankind  continued 
innocent,  there  would  have  been  no  difficulty  in  their  case. 
It  would  be  very  plain  what  would  be  fit  for  the  divine 
government  to  do  with  dutiful  subjects.  But,  alas !  re- 
bellion against  God  has  made  its  entrance  into  our  world, 
and  all  its  inhabitants  are  up  in  arms  against  Heaven. 
This  has  thrown  all  into  confusion,  and  rendered  it  a  per- 
plexing case  what  to  do  with  them.  In  one  view,  indeed, 
the  case  is  plain,  viz.,  that  proper  punishments  should  be 
executed  upon  them.  This  would  appear  evidently  just 
to  the  whole  universe,  and  no  objection  could  be  made 
against  it,  though  the  criminals  themselves,  who  are  parties, 
and  therefore  not  fit  judges,  might  murmur  against  it  as 
unmerciful  and  severe.  But  the  difficulty  is,  how  such 


632  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

rebels  may  not  only  be  delivered  from  the  punishments 
they  deserve,  but  made  happy  for  ever.  If  they  cannot 
be  saved  in  a  way  that  displays  the  perfections  of  God, 
and  does  honour  to  his  government;  a  way  in  which  sin 
will  meet  with  no  encouragement,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
an  effectual  warning  will  be  given  against  it;  a  way  in 
which  depraved  creatures  may  be  sanctified  and  made  fit 
for  the  pure  bliss  of  heaven;  I  say,  if  they  cannot  be 
saved  in  such  a  way  as  this,  they  cannot  be  saved  at  all ; 
their  salvation  is  quite  impossible :  for  each  of  these  par- 
ticulars is  of  such  importance,  that  it  cannot  be  dispensed 
with.  God  is  the  best  and  most  glorious  being  in  himself; 
and  it  is  fit  he  should  do  justice  to  his  own  perfections, 
and  exhibit  them  in  the  most  God-like  and  glorious  manner 
to  his  creatures;  to  do  otherwise  would  be  to  wrong  him- 
self, to  obscure  the  brightest  glory,  and  dishonour  the 
highest  excellency.  This  therefore  cannot  be  done ;  men 
and  angels  must  be  happy,  in  a  way  consistent  with  his 
glory,  otherwise  they  must  perish ;  for  the  display  of  his 
glory  is  a  greater  good,  and  a  matter  of  more  importance, 
than  the  happiness  of  the  whole  creation.  God  is  also 
the  moral  Governor  of  the  world.  And  his  government 
over  our  world  is  a  government  over  a  country  of  rebels ; 
and  that  is  a  tender  point,  and  requires  a  judicious  man- 
agement. An  error  in  government,  in  such  a  case,  may 
have  the  most  fatal  consequences,  both  as  to  the  ruler  and 
his  subjects  in  all  parts  of  his  dominions.  A  private  person 
may,  if  he  pleases,  give  up  his  rights,  may  pardon  offenders, 
and  conceal  his  justice,  and  other  qualities  for  govern- 
ment; but  a  ruler  is  not  at  liberty  in  this  case.  He  must 
maintain  his  character,  make  known  his  capacity  for 
government,  and  support  the  dignity  of  the  law :  other- 
wise, all  might  rush  into  confusion  and  lawless  violence. 
If  the  ruler  of  a  small  kingdom  on  our  little  globe  should 


THE    MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  633 

fail  to  discover  his  justice ;  if  he  should  pardon  criminals, 
and  admit  them  into  favour,  and  into  posts  of  honour  and 
profit,  without  giving  proper  expressions  of  his  displeasure 
against  their  conduct,  and  a  striking  warning  against  all 
disobedience,  how  fatal  would  be  the  consequences  ?  how 
soon  would  such  a  ruler  fall  into  contempt,  and  his  govern- 
ment be  unhinged  ?  and  how  soon  would  his  kingdom  be- 
come a  scene  of  confusion  and  violence  ?  Criminals  might 
like  such  an  administration;  but  I  appeal  to  yourselves, 
would  you  choose  to  live  under  it?  Now,  how  much 
more  terrible  and  extensively  mischievous  would  be  the 
consequences,  if  the  universal  Ruler  of  men  and  angels, 
and  of  more  worlds  than  we  have  heard  the  fame  of, 
should  exercise  such  a  government  over  our  rebellious 
world  ?  It  would  be  reproachful  to  himself;  and  it  would 
be  most  injurious  to  his  subjects ;  in  short,  it  might  throw 
heaven  and  earth,  and  unknown  regions  of  the  universe, 
into  confusion.*  He  must,  therefore,  display  his  own 
rectoral  virtues;  he  must  maintain  the  honour  of  his 
government,  he  must  show  his  displeasure  against  diso- 
bedience, and  deter  his  subjects  from  it;  I  say,  he  must 
do  these  things  in  saving  the  sinners  of  Adam's  race,  or  he 
cannot  save  them  at  all.  Should  he  save  them  upon  other 
terms,  it  would  reflect  dishonour  upon  himself  and  admin- 
istration ;  and  it  would  be  injurious  to  the  good  of  the 
whole,  which  is  always  the  end  of  a  wise  ruler;  for  the 
favour  thus  injudiciously  shown  to  a  part  of  the  creation 
in  our  world,  might  occasion  a  more  extensive  mischief  in 
other  more  important  worlds ;  and  so  it  would  be  promot- 
ing a  private  interest  to  the  detriment  of  the  public,  which 
is  always  the  character  of  a  weak  or  wicked  ruler.  Again, 

*  Pardoning  sin,  receiving  into  favour,  and  bestowing  happiness,  are  not 
to  be  considered,  in  this  case,  as  private  favours  ;  but  they  are  acts  of  go- 
vernment. 

VOL.  I.— 80 


634  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

sinners  cannot  be  saved  until  their  dispositions  be  changed, 
so  that  they  can  relish  and  delight  in  the  fruition  and  em- 
ployments of  the  heavenly  state.  Provision,  therefore, 
must  be  made  for  this ;  otherwise,  their  salvation  is  im- 
possible. 

Now,  the  way  of  salvation,  through  Christ  crucified, 
most  completely  answers  these  ends  in  the  most  illustrious 
manner. 

1.  The  salvation  of  sinners,  in  this  way,  gives  the  bright- 
est display  of  the  perfections  of  God,  and  particularly  of 
those  that  belong  to  him,  as  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the 
rational  world,  and  maintains  the  honour  of  his  govern- 
ment. 

Justice  and  clemency,  duly  tempered,  and  exercised 
with  wisdom,  is  a  summary  of  those  virtues  that  belong 
to  a  good  ruler.  Now  these  are  most  illustriously  dis- 
played in  a  happy  conjunction  in  Christ  crucified.  Justice 
shines  brighter  than  if  every  sin  had  been  punished  upon  of- 
fenders, without  any  mercy  ;  and  mercy  and  clemency  shine 
brighter  than  if  every  sin  had  been  pardoned,  and  every  sin- 
ner made  happy,  without  any  execution  of  justice.  Mercy 
appears  in  turning  the  divine  mind  with  such  a  strong  pro- 
pensity upon  the  salvation  of  sinners;  and  justice  appears 
in  that  when  the  heart  of  God  was  so  much  set  upon  it, 
yet  he  would  not  save  them  without  a  complete  satisfac- 
tion to  his  justice.  Mercy  appears  in  providing  such  a 
Saviour;  and  justice,  in  inflicting  the  punishment  due  to 
sin  upon  him,  without  abatement,  though  he  loved  him 
more  than  the  whole  universe  of  creatures.  Mercy,  in 
transferring  the  guilt  from  the  sinner  upon  the  Surety, 
and  accepting  a  vicarious  satisfaction :  justice  in  exacting 
the  satisfaction,  and  not  passing  by  sin,  when  it  was  but 
imputed  to  the  darling  Son  of  God.  Mercy,  in  pardoning 
and  saving  guilty  sinners :  justice  in  punishing  their  sin. 


THE    MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  635 

Mercy,  in  justifying  them,  though  destitute  of  all  personal 
merit  and  righteousness :  justice  in  justifying  them  only  and 
entirely  on  account  of  the  merit  and  righteousness  of 
Christ.  Thus  the  righteousness  or  justice  of  God  is  de- 
clared not  only  in  the  punishment,  but  in  the  remission  of 
sins,  Rom.  iii.  26,  and  we  are  justified  freely  through  his 
grace,  and  in  the  meantime  by  the  redemption  that  is  in 
Jesus  Christ,  (verse  24.)  Mercy  appears  in  providing  a 
Saviour  of  such  infinite  dignity :  justice,  in  refusing  satis- 
faction from  an  inferior  person.  Mercy,  in  forgiving  sin : 
justice,  in  not  forgiving  so  much  as  one  sin  without  a  suf- 
ficient atonement.  Mercy,  rich,  free  mercy  towards  the 
sinner :  justice,  strict,  inexorable  justice  towards  the  Surety. 
In  short,  mercy  -and  justice,  as  it  were,  walk  hand  in 
hand  through  every  step  of  this  amazing  scheme.  They 
are  not  only  glorious  each  of  them  apart,  but  they  mingle 
their  beams,  and  reflect  a  glory  upon  each  other.  By  this 
scheme  of  salvation,  by  the  Cross  of  Christ,  also,  the 
honour  of  the  divine  government  is  secured  and  advanced. 
The  clemency  and  compassion  of  God  towards  his  rebel- 
lious subjects,  are  most  illustriously  displayed;  but,  in  the 
meantime,  he  takes  care  to  secure  the  sacred  rights  of  his 
government.  Though  innumerable  multitudes  of  rebels 
are  pardoned,  yet  not  one  of  them  is  pardoned  until  their 
rebellion  is  punished  according  to  its  demerit  in  the  person 
of  the  Surety.  The  precept  of  the  law,  whieh  they  had 
broken,  was  perfectly  obeyed ;  the  penalty  which  they  had 
incurred,  was  fully  endured,  not  by  themselves  indeed,  but 
by  one  that  presented  himself  in  their  place ;  and  it  is  only 
on  this  footing  they  are  received  into  favour.  So  that  the 
law  is  magnified,  and  made  honourable,  and  the  rights  of 
government  are  preserved  sacred  and  inviolable,  and  yet 
the  prisoners  of  justice  are  set  free,  and  advanced  to  the 
highest  honours  and  blessedness. 


636  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

2.  In  this  way  of  salvation,  God's  hatred  to  sin  is  disco- 
vered in  the  most  striking  light ;  the  evil  of  sin  is  exposed 
in  the  most  dreadful  colours ;  and  so  an  effectual  warning 
is  given  to  all  worlds  to  deter  them  from  it.  Now  it  ap- 
pears, that  such  is  the  divine  hatred  against  all  sin,  that 
God  can  by  no  means  connive  at  it,  or  suffer  it  to  pass 
without  punishment ;  and  that  all  the  infinite  benevolence 
of  his  nature  towards  his  creatures  cannot  prevail  upon 
him  to  pardon  the  least  sin  without  an  adequate  satisfaction. 
Nay,  now  it  appears  that  when  so  malignant  and  abomina- 
ble a  thing  is  but  imputed  to  his  dear  Son,  his  co-equal, 
his  darling,  his  favourite,  even  he  could  not  escape  unpun- 
ished, but  was  made  a  monument  of  vindictive  justice  to 
all  worlds.  And  what  can  more  strongly  expose  the  evil 
of  sin  1  It  is  such  an  intolerably  malignant  and  abomina- 
ble thing,  that  even  a  God  of  infinite  mercy  and  grace  can- 
not let  the  least  instance  of  it  pass  unpunished.  It  was 
not  a  small  thing  that  could  arm  his  justice  against  the  Son 
of  his  love.  But  when  he  was  but  made  sin  for  us,  and 
was  perfectly  innocent  in  himself,  God  spared  not  his  own 
Son,  but  delivered  him  up  unto  death,  the  shameful,  tor- 
menting, and  accursed  death  of  the  cross.  Go,  ye  fools, 
that  make  a  mock  at  sin,  go  and  learn  its  malignity  and 
demerit  at  the  cross  of  Jesus.  Who  is  it  that  hangs  there 
writhing  in  the  agonies  of  death,  his  hands  and  feet  pierced 
•with  nails,  his  side  with  a  spear,  his  face  bruised  with 
blows,  and  drenched  with  tears  and  blood,  his  heart  melt- 
ing like  wax,  his  whole  frame  racked  and  disjointed;  for- 
saken by  his  friends,  and  even  by  his  Father;  tempted  by 
devils,  and  insulted  by  men  ?  Who  is  this  amazing  specta- 
cle of  woe  and  torture  ?  It  is  Jesus,  the  eternal  Word  of 
God ;  the  man  that  is  his  fellow ;  his  Elect,  in  whom  his 
soul  delighteth;  his  beloved  Son,  in  whom  he  is  well 
pleased.  And  what  has  he  done  ?  He  did  no  wicked- 


THE    MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  637 

ness ;  he  knew  no  sin ;  but  was  holy,  harmless,  undefiled, 
and  separate  from  sinners.  And  whence  then  all  these 
dreadful  sufferings  from  heaven,  earth,  and  hell  ?  Why, 
he  only  stood  in  the  law-place  of  sinners ;  he  only  received 
their  sin  by  imputation.  And  you  see  what  it  has  brought 
upon  him !  you  see  how  low  it  has  reduced  him !  and  what 
a  horrid  evil  must  that  be,  which  has  tremendous  conse- 
quences, even  upon  the  Darling  of  heaven  !  Oh !  what 
still  more  dreadful  havoc  would  it  have  made,  if  it  had  been 
punished  upon  the  sinner  himself  in  his  own  person ! 
Surely  all  the  various  miseries  which  have  been  inflicted 
upon  our  guilty  world  in  all  ages,  and  even  all  the  punish- 
ments of  hell,  do  not  so  loudly  proclaim  the  terrible  desert 
and  malignity  of  sin  as  the  cross  of  Christ ;  and  hence  it 
follows,  that  in  this  way  of  salvation,  the  most  effectual 
warning  is  given  to  the  whole  universe,  to  deter  them  from 
disobedience.  Rebels  are  pardoned  and  made  happy, 
without  making  a  bad  precedent,  or  giving  any  encourage- 
ment to  others  to  repeat  the  transgression.  And  this  was 
the  tender  and  critical  point.  If  rebels  can  be  pardoned 
without  reflecting  dishonour  upon  the  government,  and 
doing  injury  to  the  society,  it  is  well ;  but  how  this  shall 
be  done  is  the  difficulty.  But  by  the  strange  expedient  of  a 
crucified  Saviour,  all  the  difficulty  is  removed.  Sinners 
can  no  more  presume  upon  sin,  with  a  pretence  that  the 
Supreme  Ruler  has  no  great  indignation  against  it,  or  that 
there  is  no  great  evil  in  it;  for,  as  I  observed,  his  hatred 
to  sin,  and  the  infinite  malignity  of  it,  appear  nowhere  in 
so  striking  and  awful  a  light  as  in  the  cross  of  Christ.  Let 
a  reasonable  creature  take  but  one  serious  view  of  that, 
and  sure  he  must  ever  after  tremble  at  the  thought  of  the 
least  sin.  Again,  though  sinners  are  pardoned  in  this 
way,  yet  no  encouragement  is  given  to  the  various  ter- 
ritories of  the  divine  dominions  to  flatter  themselves 


638  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

that  they  also  will  be  forgiven  in  case  they  should  imitate 
the  race  of  man  in  their  rebellion.  There  is  but  one 
instance  that  we  know  of  in  the  whole  universe  of  the 
forgiveness  of  sin,  and  the  restoration  of  rebels  into  favour  ; 
and  we  are  so  happy  as  to  find  that  only  instance  in  our 
guilty  world.  But  what  a  strange  revolution  has  been 
brought  about !  what  amazing  miracles  have  been  wrought 
in  order  to  prepare  the  way  for  it !  The  eternal  Son  of 
God  must  become  a  man,  and  die  the  death  of  a  crim- 
inal and  slave  upon  the  cross.  The  very  first  effort  of 
pardoning  grace  went  thus  far;  and  is  it  possible  it 
should  go  any  farther;  or  is  there  reason  to  hope  that 
such  a  miracle  should  often  be  repeated  ? — that  the  Son 
of  God  should  hang  upon  a  cross  as  often  as  any  race  of 
creatures  may  fall  into  sin?  Such  hopes  receive  a  damp 
from  the  case  of  the  apostate  angels,  for  whom  he  refused 
to  die  and  assume  the  office  of  a  Saviour.  Or  is  there 
any  other  being  that  can  perform  that  task  for  some  other 
kingdom  of  rebels  which  Christ  has  discharged  for  the  sons 
of  men  1  No :  he  only  is  equal  to  it ;  and  none  else  has 
sufficient  dignity,  power,  or  love.  This,  therefore,  must 
strike  a  terror  into  all  worlds  at  the  thought  of  sin,  and 
leave  them  no  umbrage  to  presume  they  shall  escape  pun- 
ishment, when  they  observe  that  the  redeemed  from  among 
men  could  not  be  saved  but  at  so  prodigious  an  expense, 
and  that  the  fallen  angels  are  suffered  to  perish  without 
any  salvation  provided  for  them  at  all. 

3.  In  this  way,  provision  is  made  for  the  sanctification 
of  sinners,  that  they  may  be  fit  for  the  fruitions  and  em- 
ployments of  the  heavenly  state.  Their  taste  is  so  vitiated, 
that  they  have  no  relish  for  that  pure  bliss,  and  therefore 
can  no  more  be  happy  there  than  a  sick  man  can  relish 
the  entertainments  of  a  feast.  And  they  are  so  far  gone 
with  the  deadly  disease  of  sin,  that  they  are  not  able  to  re- 


THE    MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  639 

cover  themselves ;  nay,  they  are  not  so  much  as  disposed 
to  use  means  for  that  end.  They  are  estranged  from  God, 
and  engaged  in  rebellion  against  him ;  and  they  love  to 
continue  so.  They  will  not  submit,  nor  return  to  their 
duty  and  allegiance.  Hence,  there  is  need  of  a  superior 
power  to  subdue  their  stubborn  hearts,  and  sweetly  con- 
strain them  to  subjection ;  to  inspire  them  with  the  love  of 
God,  and  an  implacable  detestation  of  all  sin.  And  for  this 
purpose,  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  is  sent  into  the  world : 
for  this  purpose  he  is  at  work,  from  age  to  age,  upon  the 
hearts  of  men.  And  though  he  be  most  ungratefully  resisted, 
grieved,  and  despitefully  treated,  and  he  gives  up  many  to 
the  lusts  of  their  own  hearts,  yet  numerous  and  glorious 
are  the  conquests  he  has  gained  over  rebellious  sinners. 
Many  a  stubborn  will  has  he  sweetly  subdued;  many  a 
heart  of  stone  has  he  softened,  and  dissolved  into  ingenu- 
ous repentance,  like  snow  before  the  sun ;  many  a  depraved 
soul  has  he  purified,  and  at  length  brought  to  the  heavenly 
state  in  all  the  beauties  of  perfect  holiness.  And  hence  it 
is,  that  there  is  any  such  thing  as  true  religion  to  be  found 
upon  earth,  and  that  any  of  the  sons  of  men  are  recovered 
to  obedience  and  happiness.  But  for  this  inestimable  bless- 
ing we  are  indebted  to  a  crucified  Christ.  It  is  the  dear 
purchase  of  his  blood,  and  had  it  not  been  so  purchased,  it 
would  never  have  been  communicated  to  our  guilty  world ; 
and  consequently  never  would  one  rebel  have  submitted, 
never  would  one  heart  have  felt  the  love  of  God,  among 
all  the  sons  of  men. 

Thus,  my  brethren,  you  see  a  way  is  really  opened  for 
the  salvation  of  sinners  through  the  crucifixion  of  Christ. 
And  oh !  what  an  amazing,  unexpected,  mysterious  way ! 
how  far  beyond  the  reach  of  human  wisdom !  and  how 
brilliant  a  display  of  the  divine !  To  display  the  perfec- 
tions of  God  by  occasion  of  sin  more  illustriously  than  if 


640  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

sin  had  never  entered  into  the  world,  and  thus  bring  the 
greatest  good  out  of  the  greatest  evil — to  pardon  and  save 
the  sinner,  and  yet  condemn  and  punish  his  sin ! — to  give 
the  brightest  display  of  justice  in  the  freest  exercise  of 
mercy ;  and  the  richest  discovery  of  mercy  in  the  most 
rigorous  execution  of  justice — to  dismiss  rebels  from  pun- 
ishment, and  advance  them  to  the  highest  honours,  and  yet 
secure  and  even  advance  the  honour  of  the  government 
against  which  they  had  rebelled — to  give  the  most  effec- 
tual warning  against  sin,  even  in  rewarding  the  sinner ; 
and  to  let  it  pass  unpunished,  without  making  a  bad  prece- 
dent, or  giving  any  encouragement  to  it — to  magnify  the 
law  in  justifying  those  that  had  broken  it — to  discover  the 
utmost  hatred  against  sin,  in  showing  the  highest  love  to 
the  sinner — what  an  astonishing  God-like  scheme  is  this ! 
What  a  stupendous  display  of  the  infinite  wisdom  of  God  I 
Could  the  Socrateses,  the  Platos,  and  other  oracles  of  the 
heathen  world,  ever  have  found  out  an  expedient  to  an- 
swer this  end,  and  reconcile  these  seeming  contradictions ! 
No ;  this  would  have  nonplussed  men  and  angels ;  for  in 
what  a  strange,  unthought-of  way  is  it  brought  about ! 
that  the  Son  of  God  should  become  the  Son  of  man ;  the 
Head  of  the  universe  appear  in  the  form  of  a  servant ; 
the  Author  of  life  die  upon  a  cross ;  the  Lawgiver  become 
the  subject  of  his  own  law,  and  suffer  its  penalty,  though 
perfectly  innocent!  Who  would  ever  have  thought  of 
such  strange  events  as  these?  This  is  to  accomplish  as- 
tonishing things  in  an  astonishing  way.  You  may  as  well 
set  a  human  understanding  to  draw  the  plan  of  a  world, 
as  to  form  such  a  scheme  as  this.  Oh  !  it  is  all  divine ;  it 
is  the  wonder  of  angels;  and  the  greatest  miracle  in  the 
universe. 

Thus,  you  see,  there  are  very  good  reasons,  reducible 
to  this  head,  why  the  Cross  of  Christ  should  be  the  grand 


THE    MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  641 

weapon  to  destroy  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  and  rescue 
sinners  and  bring  them  into  a  state  of  liberty  and  glory. 

And  there  are  reasons,  equally  important,  that  fall  under 
the  other  head,  viz. :  That  the  preaching  of  Christ  cruci- 
fied makes  such  a  discovery  of  things,  as  has  the  most 
direct  tendency  to  bring  sinners  to  repentance,  and  pro- 
duce in  them  that  temper  which  is  necessary  to  their  sal- 
vation. 

If  a  representation  of  the  most  moving,  the  most  allur- 
ing, and  most  alarming  matters,  can  affect  the  mind  of  man, 
certainly  the  preaching  of  the  cross  cannot  be  without 
effect;  for, 

1.  The  preaching  of  a  crucified  Saviour  gives  the  strong- 
est assurance  to  the  guilty  sons  of  men,  that  their  offended 
God  is  reconcilable  to  them,  and  willing  to  receive  them 
into  favour  again,  upon  their  penitent  return  to  him.  The 
provision  he  has  made  for  this  end,  and  particularly  his 
appointing  his  Son  to  be  their  Saviour,  and  delivering  him 
up  to  the  death  of  the  cross  for  them,  leaves  no  room  for 
doubt  upon  this  head.  It  is  full  demonstration  that  he  is 
not  only  willing,  but  that  his  heart  is  earnestly  set  upon 
reconciliation ;  otherwise  he  would  not  have  been  at.  such 
infinite  pains  and  expense  to  remove  obstructions,  and  clear 
the  way  for  it.  Now  this  is  an  assurance  that  the  light 
of  nature  could  never  give.  It  leaves  us  dreadfully  in  the 
dark.  And  indeed,  nothing  but  an  express  declaration 
from  God  himself  can  inform  us  what  he  intends  to  do 
with  criminals  that  lie  entirely  at  mercy,  and  that  he  may 
do  what  he  pleases  with.  The  heathen  world  were  either 
stupidly  thoughtless  about  this  point,  or  full  of  anxiety ;  and 
their  philosophers,  amid  all  their  boasted  knowledge  could 
only  offer  plausible  conjectures.  And  yet  this  assurance 
is  necessary  to  keep  up  religion  in  the  world,  and  encour- 
age rebellious  sinners  to  return  to  obedience;  for  with 
VOL.  I.— 81 


642  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

what  heart  can  they  serve  that  God,  as  to  whom  they  fear 
he  will  accept  of  no  service  at  their  hands,  or  return  to 
him,  when  they  have  no  encouragement  that  he  will  re- 
ceive them  ?  The  hope  of  acceptance  is  the  spring  of  re- 
pentance and  all  attempts  for  reformation ;  and  when  once 
the  sinner  concludes  there  is  no  hope,  he  lies  down  inac- 
tive and  sullen  in  despair,  or  confirms  himself  in  hardened 
impenitence,  and  gives  the  full  rein  to  his  lusts.  This  the 
Psalmist  observed  long  ago :  "  There  is  forgiveness  with 
thee,  that  thou  mayest  be  feared."  Ps.  cxxx.  4.  The 
fear  of  God  is  often  used  in  Scripture  for  the  whole  of  re- 
ligion ;  and  so  it  seems  taken  here.  As  much  as  to  say, 
"  There  is  forgiveness  with  thee ;  and  thou  hast  assured  us 
of  it,  that  religion  might  be  preserved  in  the  world,  that 
mankind  may  not  abandon  thy  service  as  wholly  in  vain : 
or  give  up  themselves  to  sin,  as  despairing  of  acceptance 
upon  their  repentance."  Oh !  what  an  acceptable  assur- 
ance must  this  be  to  a  guilty,  trembling  sinner !  And  how 
suitable  a  remedy  to  such  sinners  is  the  preaching  of  the 
cross  of  Christ,  which  alone  gives  them  this  welcome  as- 
surance ! 

2.  The  preaching  of  a  crucified  Saviour  gives  the  most 
moving  display  of  the  love  of  God ;  and  love  is  a  strong 
attractive  to  repentance  and  obedience.  There  cannot  be 
so  strong  an  expression  of  love  as  the  sufferings  of  Christ. 
For  God  to  give  us  life,  and  breath,  and  all  things — what 
is  this,  in  comparison  to  the  gift  of  his  Son,  and  those  im- 
mortal blessings  which  he  has  purchased  with  his  blood? 
To  create  such  a  world  as  this  for  our  residence,  to  fur- 
nish it  with  such  a  rich  variety  of  blessings  for  our  accom- 
modation, and  to  exercise  a  tender  providence  over  us 
every  moment  of  our  lives,  this  is  amazing  love  and  good- 
ness. But  what  is  this  in  comparison  of  his  dying  love ! 
To  speak  an  all-creating  word,  and  to  hang,  and  agonize, 


THE    MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  643 

and  expire  upon  the  cross !  to  give  us  the  blessings  of  the 
earth,  and  to  give  the  blood  of  his  heart;  these  are  very 
different  things ;  they  will  not  hold  in  comparison. 

My  brethren,  let  me  make  an  experiment  upon  you 
with  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  try  with  that  weapon  to  slay 
your  sins,  and  break  your  hearts.  Can  you  view  such 
agonies  and  question  the  love  that  endured  them  ?  Or 
can  you  place  yourselves  under  the  warm  beams  of  that 
love,  and  yet  feel  no  love  kindled  in  your  hearts  in  return  ? 
What !  not  the  love  of  a  worm  for  the  dying  love  of  a 
God !  The  apostle  John  reasons  very  naturally,  when  he 
says,  We  love  him,  because  he  first  loved  us,  1  John  iv.  19. 
Love  for  love  is  but  a  reasonable  retaliation ;  especially 
the  love  of  a  redeemed  sinner  for  the  love  of  a  crucified 
Saviour.  St.  Paul  felt  the  energy  of  this  love  irresistible  : 
The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us,  2  Cor.  v.  14;  or  ac- 
cording to  the  emphasis  of  the  original  word,*  it  carries  us 
away  like  a  resistless  torrent.  And  it  appeared  to  him  so 
shocking,  that  he  could  not  mention  it  without  weeping, 
that  any  should  be  enemies  to  the  cross  of  Christ :  Phil, 
iii.  18.  Hear  what  expectations  he  had  from  the  energy 
of  his  cross  who  himself  hung  upon  it.  "I,"  says  he,  "if 
I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me." 
John  xii.  32.  This  the  evangelist  teaches  us  to  under- 
stand of  the  manner  of  his  death,  viz.,  his  being  raised  up 
from  the  earth,  and  suspended  on  the  cross.  There,  sin- 
ners, he  hung  to  attract  your  love :  and  can  you  resist  the 
force  of  this  attraction,  this  almighty  magnet  1  Jesus,  if  I 
may  so  speak,  expects  that  this  will  carry  all  before  it : 
that  every  sinner  who  sees  him  hanging  there  will  imme- 
diately melt  into  repentance,  and  be  drawn  to  him  by  the 
cords  of  love.  And  oh  !  can  you  find  in  your  hearts  to 
resist !  Where,  then,  is  the  gratitude  ?  Is  that  generous 

*  aivlxti.     So  Dr.  Doddridge  translates  it. 


644  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

principle  quite  dead  within  you  ?  I  must  honestly  tell 
you,  if  the  love  of  a  crucified  Saviour  does  not  attract  your 
love,  nothing  else  will:  you  will  continue  his  enemies,  and 
perish  as  such.  This  is  the  most  powerful  inducement 
that  can  be  proposed  to  you :  all  the  reasonings  of  the 
ablest  philosophers,  all  the  persuasions  of  the  ministers  of 
the  gospel,  all  the  goodness  of  God  in  creation  and  provi- 
dence, will  never  prevail  upon  you,  if  your  hearts  are 
proof  against  the  attraction  of  the  cross.  But,  blessed  be 
his  name  who  died  upon  it,  many  an  obstinate  and  reluc- 
tant heart  has  this  cross  allured  and  subdued :  and  oh ! 
that  we  may  all  feel  its  sweet  constraints ! 

3.  The  preaching  of  Christ  crucified  gives  such  a  rep- 
resentation of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  the  dreadful  punishment 
due  to  it,  as  naturally  tends  to  turn  sinners  from  it,  and  bring 
them  to  repentance.  In  the  Cross  of  Christ  the  sinner 
may  see  what  malignity  there  is  in  sin,  when  it  brought 
such  heavy  vengeance  on  the  head  of  the  Surety.  There 
the  sinner  may  see  how  God  hates  it,  when  he  punished 
it  so  severely  in  his  beloved  Son.  If  the  almighty 
Redeemer  sunk  under  the  load,  how  shall  the  feeble  sin- 
ner bear  up  under  it  ?  If  God  spared  not  his  own  Son, 
who  was  but  a  surety,  how  can  the  sinner  escape,  who 
was  the  original  debtor  !  Oh  sinners !  never  call  it  cruel 
that  God  should  punish  you  for  your  sins;  so  he  dealt 
with  Jesus,  his  favourite ;  and  how  can  you  hope  for  more 
favour  ?  Read  the  nature  of  sin  as  written  in  characters 
of  blood  on  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  surely  you  can  make 
light  of  it  no  more.  You  must  tremble  at  the  very  thought 
of  it;  and  immediately  reform  and  repent  of  it.  All  the 
harangues  of  moralists  upon  the  intrinsic  deformity,  the 
unreasonableness,  the  incongruity  of  vice,  never  can  rep- 
resent it  in  such  a  shocking  light  as  you  view  it  in  the 
sufferings  of  Christ.  And  can  you  look  upon  your  sins 


THE    MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  645 

piercing  him,  stretching  him  upon  the  cross,  and  slaughter- 
ing him,  and  yet  not  mourn  over  them  ?  Oh !  can  you 
indulge  the  murderous  things  that  shed  his  blood  1  Then 
you  practically  pronounce  him  an  impostor,  and  join  the 
cry  of  the  Jewish  rabble,  Crucify  him,  crucify  him  ! 

4.  The  preaching  of  Christ  crucified  presents  us  with 
such  a  perfect  pattern  of  obedience,  as  has  at  once  the  force 
of  an  example,  and  an  inducement  to  holiness.  We  need  no 
longer  view  the  law  in  theory :  we  see  it  reduced  into  an 
uniform  practice,  and  presented  to  the  life,  in  the  whole 
of  our  Lord's  conduct  towards  God  and  man.  We  see 
one  in  our  nature,  upon  our  guilty  globe,  in  our  circum- 
stances, behaving  exactly  agreeable  to  the  divine  law,  and 
leaving  us  an  example  that  we  might  follow  his  steps.  And 
shall  we  not  delight  to  imitate  our  best  friend,  and  the 
most  perfect  pattern  that  ever  was  exhibited  ?  Oh !  how 
sweet  to  walk  as  he  walked  in  the  world,  and  to  trace  the 
steps  of  his  lovely  feet !  Until  the  doctrine  of  the  cross 
was  introduced,  the  world  was  sadly  at  a  loss  about  a  rule 
of  duty.  All  the  admired  writings  of  pagan  antiquity  can- 
not furnish  out  one  complete  system  even  of  morality;  but 
here  we  have  a  perfect  law,  and  a  perfect  example,  which 
has  the  force  of  a  law.  Therefore,  let  us  be  followers  of 
this  incarnate  God  as  dear  children. 

FOR  AN  APPLICATION: 

1.  Hence  we  may  learn  our  great  happiness  in  enjoy- 
ing the  preaching  of  Christ  crucified.  It  is  but  a  very 
small  part  of  the  world  that  has  heard  this  joyful  sound ; 
and  the  time  has  been,  when  none  of  the  sons  of  men  en- 
joyed it  in  that  full  evidence  which  we  are  favoured  with. 
Now,  since  it  pleases  God  by  this  foolishness  of  preaching, 
to  save  them  that  believe,  since  this  is  the  most  effectual 


646  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

mean  for  our  recovery  from  sin  and  ruin — how  great,  how 
distinguishing,  how  peculiar  is  our  privilege !  It  becomes 
us,  my  brethren,  to  know  our  happiness  that  we  may  be 
thankful.  How  few  among  the  sons  of  men  enjoy  this 
privilege !  How  does  the  whole  world  lie  in  wickedness  ! 
Alas !  they  are  fatally  unconcerned,  or  fruitlessly  anxious 
about  a  way  of  reconciliation  with  God.  Their  priests 
and  philosophers  can  afford  them  no  relief  in  this  case ; 
but  either  mislead  them  or  increase  their  perplexity.  But 
we  have  the  strongest  assurance  that  God  is  reconcilable 
to  us ;  and  the  clearest  discovery  of  the  way.  We  have 
the  most  powerful  inducements  to  repentance,  and  the 
most  effectual  restraints  from  sin.  And  what  gratitude 
does  this  call  for  from  us,  to  our  divine  Benefactor !  and 
how  solicitous  should  we  be  to  make  a  proper  improve- 
ment of  our  peculiar  advantages ! 

2.  Hence  we  may  learn  the  shocking  guilt  and  danger 
of  our  modern  infidels,  the  Deists,  who,  like  the  Greeks, 
count  the  preaching  of  Christ  crucified  foolishness,  and 
deny  the  Lord  that  bought  them.  This  is  to  reject  the 
best,  the  last,  the  only  remedy.  Now,  let  them  consult 
their  feeble  reason ;  let  them  go  to  the  oracles  of  wisdom 
in  the  heathen  world,  and  ask  of  them  how  guilty  offenders 
may  be  restored  into  favour,  in  consistency  with  the 
honour  of  the  divine  perfections  and  government !  Alas, 
they  can  find  no  satisfactory  answer!  Now  also  they 
have  lost  the  strongest  motive  to  love  and  obedience,  when 
they  have  turned  away  their  eyes  from  the  cross.  They 
have  lost  the  most  full  and  amiable  view  of  the  divine 
nature  and  perfections  that  ever  was  exhibited  to  the 
world.  Should  they  shut  their  eyes  against  the  light  of 
the  sun,  and  abhor  all  the  beauties  of  nature,  it  would  not 
be  such  an  astonishing  instance  of  infatuation.  St.  Paul 
represents  it  as  the  most  amazing  folly,  nay,  a  kind 


THE    MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  647 

of  witchcraft  and  incantation,  that  any  should  desert 
the  truth,  that  had  ever  had  the  least  view  of  Christ  cruci- 
fied. "  Oh  foolish  Galatians !  who  hath  bewitched  you, 
that  ye  should  not  obey  the  truth,  before  whose  eyes 
Jesus  Christ  hath  been  evidently  set  forth,  crucified  among 
you?"  Gal.  iii.  1.  What  wickedness,  what  madness,  what 
an  unnatural  conspiracy  against  their  own  lives  must  it  be 
for  men  to  reject  the  only  expedient  found  out  by  infinite 
wisdom  and  goodness  for  their  salvation  !  What  base  in- 
gratitude thus  to  requite  the  dying  love  of  Jesus !  Can 
such  monsters  expect  salvation  from  his  hands  ?  No ;  they 
wilfully  cut  themselves  off  from  all  hope,  and  bring  upon 
themselves  swift  destruction.  If  the  cross  of  Christ  does 
not  break  their  hearts,  it  is  impossible  to  bring  them  to  re- 
pentance ;  the  last  and  most  powerful  remedy  has  proved 
ineffectual;  the  last  and  strongest  effort  of  divine  grace 
has  been  used  with  them  in  vain.  Since  they  obstinately 
reject  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  there  remains  no  other  sacri- 
fice for  their  sin,  and  nothing  awaits  them  but  a  fearful  ex- 
pectation of  wrath  and  fiery  indignation,  which  shall  de- 
vour them  as  adversaries. 

3.  Hence  we  should  inquire  what  effect  the  preaching 
of  Christ  crucified  has  had  upon  us.  Since  this  is  the 
grand  mean  Divine  Wisdom  has  found  out  for  the  recovery 
of  our  wicked  world,  when  all  other  means  had  been  in 
vain,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  us,  that  we  should 
inquire,  whether  it  is  likely  to  answer  this  end  upon  us. 
It  pleases  God  by  this  foolishness  of  preaching,  to  save 
them  that  believe.  Observe  the  limitation — them  that  be- 
lieve. They,  and  only  they,  can  be  saved  by  it.  As  for 
unbelievers,  they  cannot  be  saved  in  this  or  any  other 
way.  Let  us  then  abandon  every  other  concern  for 
a  while,  and  seriously  examine  ourselves  in  this  point. 
Faith  comes  by  hearing ;  and  have  we  been  brought  to 


648  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

believe  by  hearing  the  preaching  of  the  cross  ?  Do  we 
relish  this  humble,  despised  doctrine  with  peculiar  plea- 
sure ?  Is  it  the  life  and  nourishment  of  our  souls,  and  the 
ground  of  all  our  hopes  ?  Or  do  we  secretly  wonder 
what  there  can  be  in  it,  that  some  should  be  so  much 
affected  with  it  ?  "  To  them  that  perish,"  says  the  apostle, 
and  to  them  only,  "  the  preaching  of  the  cross  is  foolish- 
ness." And  is  that  our  dreadful  characteristic  ?  Or  does 
a  crucified  Christ  appear  to  us  as  the  wisdom  of  God,  and 
the  power  of  God,  as  he  does  to  all  them  that  believe, 
however  different  their  natural  tastes,  and  the  prejudices 
of  their  education,  and  their  outward  circumstances  ?  Do 
we  suspend  all  our  hopes  upon  the  cross  of  Christ  ?  Do 
we  glory  in  it  above  all  other  things,  whatever  contempt 
the  world  may  pour  upon  it  1  Do  we  feel  our  necessity 
of  a  Mediator  in  all  our  transactions  with  God,  and  depend 
entirely  upon  the  merit  of  his  death  for  acceptance,  sensible 
that  we  have  no  merit  of  our  own  to  procure  one  smile 
from  God  1  Have  we  ever  had  our  hearts  enlightened  to 
behold  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ? 
Have  we  admired  the  scheme  of  salvation  through  a  cru- 
cified Jesus,  as  illustrating  the  perfections  of  God,  and 
securing  the  honour  of  the  divine  government,  while  it 
secures  our  salvation  ?  And  do  we  delight  in  it  upon  that 
account  ?  Or  are  we  quite  indifferent  about  the  glory  of 
God,  if  we  may  be  but  saved  1  Alas !  hereby  we  show 
we  are  entirely  under  the  government  of  selfish  principles, 
and  have  no  regard  for  God  at  all.  Do  our  thoughts  fre- 
quently hover  and  cluster  about  the  cross  with  the  ten- 
derest  affections?  And  has  the  view  of  it  melted  our 
hearts  into  the  most  ingenuous  lamentings  for  sin,  and  given 
us  such  a  hatred  against  it,  that  we  can  never  indulge  it 
more?  My  brethren,  put  such  questions  as  these  home 
to  your  hearts,  and  then  endeavour  to  come  to  some  just 


THE    MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  649 

conclusion  with  regard  to  yourselves.     And  if  the  conclu- 
sion be  against  you,  then, 

4.  Consider  your  guilt  and  danger — consider  your  in- 
gratitude in  rejecting  all  the  love  of  God,  and  a  crucified 
Saviour — your  hardness  of  heart,  that  has  not  been  broken 
by  such  a  moving  representation — the  aversion  of  your 
souls  to  God,  that  have  not  been  allured  to  him  by  the 
powerful  attraction  of  the  cross — and  oh!  consider  your 
danger:  the  last  remedy  has  been  tried  upon  you  in  vain; 
Christ's  grand  expedient  for  the  salvation  of  sinners  has 
had  no  effect  upon  you.     Had  the  religion  of  the  Jews, 
or  of  the  heathen  world,  failed  to  bring  you  to  repentance, 
there  might  be  still  some  hope  that  the  preaching  of  Christ 
crucified  might  prevail.     But,  alas!  when  that  fails,  how 
discouraging  is  your  case !     Therefore,  I  pray  you,  take 
the  alarm,  and  labour  to  get  your  hearts  affected  with  this 
representation.     Oh  yield  to  the  attraction  of  the  cross ! 
let  him  draw  you  to  himself  whom  you  see  lifted  up  on  it; 
and  do  not  attempt  such  an  exploit  of  wickedness  as  to 
resist  the  allurements  of  such  love.     And  oh !  cry  to  God 
for  his  enlightening  Spirit.      Alas!    it  is  your  blindness 
that  renders  you  unaffected  with  this  moving  object.     Did 
you  but  know  the  Lord  of  glory,  who  was  crucified ;  did 
you  but  see  the  glory  of  the  plan  of  salvation  through  his 
sufferings,  you  would  immediately  become  the  captive  of 
his   cross,  conquered  by  the  power  of  his  love.     And 
such,  believe  me,  such  you  must  be,  before  you  can  be 
saved.     But  if  the  result  of  your  examination  turn  out  in 
your  favour,  then, 

5.  You  may  entertain  the  joyful  hope  of  salvation;  of 
salvation  through  one  that  was  insulted  as  not  able  to  save 
himself;  of  crowns  of  glory,  through  him  that  wore  the 
crown  of  thorns ;  of  fulness  of  joy  through  the  man  of 

sorrows ;  of  immortal  life  through  one  that  died  upon  a 
VOL.  I.— 82 


650  THE    PREACHING    OF    CHRIST    CRUCIFIED 

cross ;  I  say,  you  may  entertain  a  joyful  hope  of  all  this ; 
for  in  this  way  of  salvation  there  is  no  hinderance,  no 
objection.  God  will  be  glorified  in  glorifying  you,  the 
law  magnified  in  justifying  you.  In  short,  the  honour  of 
God  and  his  government  concur  with  your  interest;  and, 
therefore,  if  you  heartily  embrace  this  plan  of  salvation, 
you  may  be  as  sure  that  God  will  save  you,  as  that  he 
will  take  care  of  his  own  glory,  for  they  are  inseparably 
connected.  And  do  not  your  hearts,  dead  as  they  are, 
spring  within  you  at  the  thought?  Do  you  not  long  to 
see  your  Saviour  on  the  throne,  to  whose  cross  you  are 
indebted  for  all  your  hopes  ?  And  oh !  will  you  not  praise 
his  name  while  you  live,  and  continue  the  song  through 
all  eternity?  Are  you  not  ready  to  anticipate  the  anthem 
of  heaven,  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  to  receive 
power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honour, 
and  glory,  and  blessing :  for  thou  hast  redeemed  us  to  God 
by  thy  blood?  Rev.  v.  9,  12. 

Finally,  let  me  congratulate*  my  reverend  brethren,  on 
their  being  made  ministers  of  the  New  Testament,  which 
reveals  that  glorious  and  delightful  subject,  Christ  cruci- 
fied, in  full  light,  and  diffuses  it  through  all  their  studies 
and  discourses.  The  Lamb  that  was  slain  is  the  theme 
that  animates  the  songs  of  angels  and  saints  above,  and 
even  our  unhallowed  lips  are  allowed  to  touch  it  without 
profanation.  Let  us,  therefore,  my  dear  brethren,  delight 
to  dwell  upon  it.  Let  us  do  justic,e  to  the  refined  morality 
of  the  gospel;  let  us  often  explain  and  enforce  the  pre- 
cepts, the  graces,  and  the  virtues  of  Christianity;  and 
teach  men  to  live  righteously,  soberly,  and  godly  in  the 
world.  But  let  us  do  this  in  an  evangelical  strain,  as 

*  The  author,  towards  the  end  of  the  discourse,  writes,  "  At  a  Presbytery 
in  Augusta,  April  25,  1759;"  which  accounts  for  this  particular  address  to 
ministers. 


THE   MEAN    OF    SALVATION.  651 

ministers  of  the  crucified  Jesus,  and  not  as  the  scholars  of 
Epictetus  or  Seneca.  Let  us  labour  to  bring  men  to  a 
hearty  compliance  with  the  method  of  salvation  through 
Christ;  and  then  we  shall  find  it  comparatively  an  easy 
matter,  a  thing  of  course,  to  make  them  good  moralists. 
Then  a  short  hint  of  their  duty  to  God  and  man  will  be 
more  forcible  than  whole  volumes  of  ethics,  while  their 
spirits  are  not  cast  in  the  gospel-mould.  Thus  may  we 
be  enabled  to  go  on,  till  our  great  Master  shall  take  our 
charge  off  our  hands,  and  call  us  to  give  an  account  of  our 
stewardship ! 


652        INGRATITUDE  TO  GOD  AN  HEINOUS 


SERMON  XXV. 

INGRATITUDE  TO  GOD  AN  HEINOUS  BUT  GENERAL  INIQUITY. 

2  CHRON.  xxxii.  25. — But  Hezekiah  rendered  not  again 
according  to  the  benefit  done  unto  him. 

AMONG  the  many  vices  that  are  at  once  universally 
decried,  and  universally  practised  in  the  world,  there  is 
none  more  base  or  more  common  than  ingratitude;  in- 
gratitude towards  the  supreme  Benefactor.  Ingratitude 
is  the  sin  of  individuals,  of  families,  of  churches,  of  king- 
doms, and  even  of  all  mankind.  The  guilt  of  ingratitude 
lies  heavy  upon  the  whole  race  of  men,  though,  alas !  but 
few  of  them  feel  and  lament  it.  I  have  felt  it  of  late  with 
unusual  weight;  and  it  is  the  weight  of  it  that  now  extorts 
a  discourse  from  me  upon  this  subject.  If  the  plague  of 
an  ungrateful  heart  must  cleave  to  us  while  in  this  world 
of  sin  and  imperfection,  let  us  at  least  lament  it;  let  us 
bear  witness  against  it;  let  us  condemn  ourselves  for  it; 
and  let  us  do  all  we  can  to  suppress  it  in  ourselves.  I  feel 
myself,  as  it  were,  exasperated,  and  full  of  indignation 
against  it,  and  against  myself,  as  guilty  of  it.  And  in  the 
bitterness  of  my  spirit,  I  shall  endeavour  to  expose  it  to 
your  view  in  its  proper  infernal  colours,  as  an  object  of 
horror  and  indignation. 

None  of  us  can  flatter  ourselves  that  we  are  in  little  or 
no  danger  of  this  sin,  when  even  so  good  and  great  a  man 
as  Hezekiah  did  not  escape  the  infection.  In  the  memoirs 
of  his  life,  which  are  illustrious  for  piety,  zeal  for  reforma- 


BUT    GENERAL    INIQUITY.  653 

tion,  victory  over  his  enemies,  glory  and  importance  at 
home  and  abroad,  this,  alas !  is  recorded  of  him,  "  That  he 
rendered  not  again  to  his  divine  Benefactor  according  to 
the  benefit  done  unto  him;  for  his  heart  was  lifted  up, 
therefore  there  was  wrath  upon  him,  and  upon  Judah  and 
Jerusalem." 

Many  had  been  the  blessings  and  deliverances  of  this 
good  man's  life.  I  shall  only  particularize  two,  recorded 
in  this  chapter.  The  Assyrians  had  overrun  a  great  part 
of  the  country,  and  intended  to  lay  siege  to  Jerusalem. 
Their  haughty  monarch  who  had  carried  all  before  him, 
and  was  grown  insolent  with  success,  sent  Hezekiah  a 
blasphemous  letter,  to  intimidate  him  and  his  people.  He 
profanely  bullies  and  defies  Hezekiah  and  his  God  to- 
gether; and  Rabshakeh,  his  messenger,  comments  upon 
his  master's  letter  in  the  same  style  of  impiety  and  inso- 
lence. But  here  observe  the  signal  efficacy  of  prayer! 
Hezekiah,  Isaiah,  and  no  doubt  many  other  pious  people 
among  the  Jews,  made  their  prayer  to  the  God  of  Israel ; 
and,  as  it  were,  complained  to  him  of  the  threatenings  and 
profane  blasphemy  of  the  Assyrian  monarch.  Jehovah 
hears,  and  works  a  miraculous  deliverance  for  them.  He 
sends  out  an  angel  (one  was  sufficient),  who  destroyed  in 
one  night,  as  we  are  elsewhere  told,  (2  Kings  xix.  35,) 
no  less  than  a  hundred  fourscore  and  five  thousand  men; 
which  extensive  slaughter,  a  Jewish  tradition  tells  us,  was 
made  by  means  of  lightning,  a  very  supposable  and  suffi- 
cient cause.  Sennacherib,  with  the  thin  remains  of  his 
army,  fled  home  inglorious;  and  his  two  sons  assassinated 
him  at  an  idolatrous  altar.  Thus  Jerusalem  was  freed 
from  danger,  and  the  country  rescued  from  slavery  and  the 
ravages  of  war.  Nay,  we  find  from  profane  history,  that 
this  dreadful  blow  proved  fatal  in  the  issue  to  the  Assyrian 
monarchy,  which  had  oppressed  the  world  so  long;  for 


654  INGRATITUDE    TO   GOD    AN    HEINOUS 

upon  this  the  Medes,  and  afterwards  other  nations,  threw 
off  their  submission;  and  the  empire  fell  to  pieces.  Cer- 
tainly so  illustrious  a  deliverance  as  this,  wrought  imme- 
diately by  the  divine  hand,  was  a  sufficient  reason  for 
ardent  gratitude. 

Another  deliverance  followed  upon  this.  Hezekiah 
was  sick  unto  death ;  that  is,  his  sickness  was  in  its  own 
nature  mortal,  and  would  have  been  unto  death,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  miraculous  interposition  of  Providence.  But, 
upon  his  prayer  to  God,  he  was  recovered,  and  fifteen 
years  added  to  his  life.  .  This  also  was  great  cause  of  grati- 
tude. And  we  find  it  had  this  effect  upon  him,  while  the 
sense  of  his  deliverance  was  fresh  upon  his  mind ;  for  in 
his  eucharistic  song  upon  his  recovery,  we  find  these  grate- 
ful strains :  The  living,  the  living,  he  shall  praise  thee,  as 
I  do  this  day  :  the  father  to  the  children  shall  make  known 
thy  truth.  The  LORD  was  ready  to  save  me  :  therefore 
we  will  sing  my  songs  to  the  stringed  instruments  all  the 
days  of  our  life  in  the  house  of  the  LORD.  But,  alas ! 
those  grateful  impressions  wore  off  in  some  time;  and 
pride,  that  uncreaturely  temper,  began  to  rise.  He  began 
to  think  himself  the  favourite  of  heaven,  in  some  degree,  on 
account  of  his  own  personal  goodness.  He  indulged  his 
vanity  in  ostentatiously  exposing  his  treasures  to  the  Baby- 
lonian messengers ;  which  was  the  instance  of  selfish  pride 
and  ingratitude  that  seems  here  particularly  referred  to. 

This  pride  and  ingratitude  passed  not  without  evidences 
of  the  divine  indignation ;  for  we  are  told,  therefore  there 
was  wrath  upon  him,  and  upon  Judah  and  Jerusalem.  As 
the  crime  was  not  peculiar  to  him,  so  neither  is  the  pun- 
ishment. Nations  and  individuals  have  suffered  in  this 
manner  from  age  to  age ;  and  under  the  guilt  of  it  we  and 
our  country  are  now  languishing. 

In  order  to  make  you  the  more  sensible  of  your  ingrati- 


BUT    GENERAL    INIQUITY.  655 

tude  towards  your  divine  Benefactor,  I  shall  give  you  a 
brief  view  of  his  mercies  towards  you,  and  expose  the 
aggravated  baseness  of  ingratitude  under  the  reception  of 
so  many  mercies. 

Mercy  has  poured  in  upon  you  upon  all  sides,  and  fol- 
lowed you  from  the  first  commencement  of  your  existence ; 
rich,  various,  free,  repeated,  uninterrupted  mercy.  The 
blessings  of  a  body  wonderfully  and  fearfully  made,  com- 
plete in  all  its  parts,  and  not  monstrous  in  any :  the  bless- 
ings of  a  rational,  immortal  soul,  preserved  in  the  exercise 
of  sound  reason  for  so  many  years,  amid  all  those  acci- 
dents that  have  shattered  it  in  others,  and  capable  of  the 
exalted  pleasure  of  religion,  and  the  everlasting  enjoyment 
of  the  blessed  God,  the  Supreme  Good :  the  blessing  of  a 
large  and  spacious  world,  prepared  and  furnished  for  our 
accommodation ;  illuminated  with  an  illustrious  sun,  and 
the  many  luminaries  of  the  sky :  the  earth  enriched  and 
adorned  with  trees,  vegetables,  various  sorts  of  grain,  and 
animals,  for  our  support  or  convenience ;  and  the  sea,  a 
medium  of  extensive  trade,  and  an  inexhaustible  store  of 
fishes :  the  blessing  of  the  early  care  of  parents  and  friends, 
to  provide  for  us  in  the  helpless  days  of  infancy,  and  direct 
or  restrain  us  in  the  giddy,  precipitant  years  of  youth :  the 
blessing  of  being  born  in  the  adult  age  of  the  world,  when 
the  improvements  of  art  are  carried  to  so  high  a  degree  of 
perfection ;  of  being  born,  not  among  savages  in  a  wilder- 
ness, but  in  a  humanized,  civilized  country ;  not  on  the 
burning,  sandy  deserts  of  the  torrid  zone,  nor  under  the 
frozen  sky  of  Lapland  or  Iceland,  but  in  a  temperate  cli- 
mate, as  favourable  to  the  comfort  and  continuance  of  life 
as  most  countries  upon  earth ;  not  in  a  barren  soil,  scarcely 
affording  provision  of  the  coarsest  sort  for  its  inhabitants, 
but  in  a  land  of  unusual  plenty,  that  has  never  felt  the 
severities  of  famine  :  the  blessing  of  not  being  a  race  of 


656        INGRATITUDE  TO  GOD  AN  HENIOUS 

slaves  under  the  tyranny  of  an  arbitrary  government,  but 
free-born  Britons  and  Virginians  in  a  land  of  liberty :  these 
birthright   blessings   are   almost   peculiar  to  us  and  our 
nation.     Let  me  enumerate  also  the  blessing  of  a  good 
education;  good,  at  least,  when  compared  to  the  many 
savage  nations  of  the  earth ;    the  blessing   of  health  for 
months  and  years;  the  blessing  of  raiment  suited  to  the 
various  seasons  of  the  year;    the  blessing  of  rain  from 
heaven,  and  fruitful  seasons,  of  summer  and  winter,  of  seed- 
time and  harvest;  the  agreeable  vicissitude  of  night  and 
day ;  the  refreshing  repose  of  sleep,  and  the  activity  and 
enjoyment  of  our  waking  hours,  the  numerous  and  refined 
blessings  of  society,  and  the  most  endearing  relations ;  the 
blessings  included  in  the  tender  names  of  friend,  husband 
or  wife,  parent  or  child,  brother  or  sister ;  the  blessings  of 
peace;  peace  in  the  midst  of  a  peaceful  country,  which 
has  been  our  happy  lot  till  of  late  years :  or  peace  in  the 
midst  of  a  ravaged,  bleeding  country,  which  is  a  more 
distinguished  and  singular  blessing,  and  which  we   now 
enjoy,  while  many  of  our  fellow-subjects  feel  a  terrible 
reverse ;  blessings  in  every  age  of  life ;  in  infancy,  in  youth, 
in  adult  age,  and  in  the  decays  of  old  age ;  blessings  by  sea 
and  land,  and  in  every  country  where  we  have  resided;  in 
short,  blessings  as  numerous  as  our  moments,  as  long  con- 
tinued as  our  lives ;  blessings  personal  and  relative,  public 
and  private ;  for  while  we  have  the  air  to  breathe  in,  the 
earth  to  tread  upon,  or  a  drop  of  water  to  quench  our 
thirst,  we  must  own  we  are  not  left  destitute  of  blessings 
from  God.     From  God,  I  say,  all  these  blessings  originally 
flow :  and  to  him  we  are  principally  obliged  for  them. 
Indeed,  they  are  conveyed  to  us  by  means  of  our  fellow- 
creatures  ;  or  they  seem  to  be  the  spontaneous  productions 
of  natural  causes,  acting  according  to  the  established  laws 
of  nature.     But  then  it  was  God,  the  Fountain  of  being 


BUT    GENERAL    INIQUITY.  657 

and  of  all  good,  that  gave  our  fellow-creatures  the  disposi- 
tion, the  ability,  and  the  opportunity  of  conveying  these 
blessings  to  us ;  and  it  is  the  great  God  who  is  the  Author 
of  those  causes  which  spontaneously  produce  so  many 
blessings  for  our  enjoyment,  and  of  those  laws  of  nature, 
according  to  which  they  act.  These  are  but  channels, 
channels  cut  by  his  hand ;  and  he  is  the  source,  the  ocean 
of  blessings.  Creatures  are  but  the  hands  that  distribute 
his  charity  through  a  needy  world ;  but  his  is  the  store 
from  which  they  derive  their  supplies.  On  this  account, 
therefore,  we  should  receive  all  these  blessings  as  gifts  from 
God,  and  feel  ourselves  obliged  to  him,  as  the  supreme, 
original  Benefactor.  Besides,  it  is  very  probable  to  me, 
that  in  order  to  bestow  some  of  these  blessings  upon  us  by 
means  of  natural  causes,  God  may  give  these  causes  a 
touch  to  turn  them  in  our  favour  more  than  they  would  be 
according  to  the  established  course  of  nature ;  a  touch  so 
efficacious  as  to  answer  the  kind  design :  though  so  gentle 
and  agreeable  to  the  established  laws  of  nature,  as  not  to 
be  perceivable,  or  to  cast  the  system  of  nature  into  disor- 
der. The  blessings  conveyed  in  this  way  are  not  only  the 
gifts  of  his  hand,  but  the  gifts  of  his  immediate  hand. 

Therefore  let  God  be  acknowledged  the  supreme,  the 
original  Benefactor  of  the  world,  and  the  proper  Author 
of  all  our  blessings ;  and  let  all  his  creatures,  in  the  height 
of  their  benevolence  and  usefulness,  own  that  they  are  but 
the  distributers  of  his  alms,  or  the  instruments  of  conveying 
the  gifts  of  his  hand.  Let  us  acknowledge  the  light  of  yon- 
der sun,  the  breath  that  now  heaves  our  lungs,  and  fans  the 
vital  flame,  the  growing  plenty  that  is  now  bursting  its  way 
through  the  clods  of  earth,  the  water  that  bubbles  up  in 
springs,  that  flows  in  streams  and  rivers,  or  rolls  at  large 
in  the  ocean ;  let  us  own,  I  say,  that  all  these  are  the  boun- 
ties of  his  hand,  who  supplies  with  good  the  various  ranks 

VOL.  I.— 83 


658  INGRATITUDE    TO    GOD    AN    HEINOUS 

of  being,  as  high  as  the  most  exalted  angel,  and  as 
low  as  the  young  ravens,  and  the  grass  of  the  field. 
Let  him  stand  as  the  acknowledged  Benefactor  of  the 
universe  to  inflame  the  gratitude  of  all  to  him,  or  to 
array  in  the  crimson  colours  of  aggravated  guilt  the  ingrati- 
tude of  those  sordid,  stupid  wretches,  who  still  continue 
unthankful. 

The  positive  blessings  I  have  briefly  enumerated,  have 
some  of  them  been  interrupted  at  times;  but  even  the  in- 
terruption seemed  only  intended  to  make  way  for  some 
deliverance ;  a  deliverance  that  reinstated  us  in  the  posses- 
sion of  our  former  blessings  with  a  new  and  stronger  relish, 
and  taught  us,  or  at  least  was  adapted  to  teach  us,  some 
useful  lessons,  which  we  were  not  likely  to  learn,  had  not 
our  enjoyment  been  a  while  suspended.  This  very  hour 
let  us  turn  our  eyes  backward,  and  take  a  review  of  a 
length  of  ten,  twenty,  forty,  or  sixty  years ;  and  what  a 
series  of  deliverances  rise  upon  us !  Deliverances  from 
the  many  dangers  of  childhood,  by  which  many  have  lost 
their  limbs,  and  many  their  lives ;  deliverances  from  many 
threatening  and  fatal  accidents ;  deliverances  from  exquisite 
pains,  and  from  dangerous  diseases;  deliverances  from  the 
gates  of  death,  and  the  mouth  of  the  grave ;  and  deliver- 
ances for  yourselves,  and  for  your  dear  families  and  friends ! 
When  sickness,  like  a  destroying  angel,  has  entered  your 
neighbourhood,  and  made  extensive  havoc  and  desolation 
around  you,  you  and  yours  have  escaped  the  infection, 
while  you  were  every  day  in  anxious  expectation  of  the 
dreadful  visit,  and  trembling  at  the  dubious  fate  of  some 
dear  relative  or  your  own  ;  or  if  it  has  entered  your  houses, 
like  a  messenger  of  death,  it  has  not  committed  its  usual 
ravages  in  them.  Or  if  it  has  torn  from  your  hearts  one 
or  more  members  of  your  family,  still  you  have  some  left, 
or  perhaps  some  new  members  added  to  make  up  the  loss. 


BUT    GENERAL    INIQUITY.  659 

When  you  have  been  in  deep  distress,  and  covered  with 
the  most  tremendous  glooms,  deliverance  has  dawned  in 
the  most  seasonable  hour,  and  light  and  joy  have  succeeded 
to  nights  of  darkness  and  melancholy.  In  short,  your 
deliverances  have  been  endless  and  innumerable.  You 
appear  this  day  so  many  monuments  of  delivering  good- 
ness. You  have  also  shared  in  the  deliverances  wrought 
for  your  country  and  nation  in  former  and  latter  times : 
deliverances  from  the  open  violences  and  clandestine  plots 
and  insurrections  of  enemies  abroad,  and  traitors  and  rebels 
at  home :  deliverances  from  the  united  efforts  of  both,  to 
subvert  the  British  Constitution,  and  to  enslave  free-born 
Britons  to  civil  or  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  or  a  medley  of 
both;  and  deliverances  from  drought,  and  the  threatening 
appearances  of  famine,  which  we  have  so  lately  experienced 
in  these  parts;  and  yet  they  are  long  enough  past  to  be 
generally  forgotten ! 

In  these  instances  of  deliverances,  as  well  as  in  the 
former,  of  positive  blessings,  let  the  great  God  be  ac- 
knowledged the  original  efficient,  whatever  creatures  he  is 
pleased  to  make  use  of  as  his  instruments.  Fortuitous 
accidents  are  under  his  direction ;  and  necessary  causes 
are  subject  to  his  control.  Diseases  are  his  servants,  his 
soldiers;  and  he  sends  them  out,  or  recalls  them  according 
to  his  pleasure. 

And  now  mention  the  benefactor  if  you  can,  to  whom 
you  are  a  thousandth  part  so  much  obliged  as  to  this 
Benefactor.  What  a  profusion  of  blessings  and  deliver- 
ances has  the  Almighty  made  you  a  subject  of!  And  oh! 
what  obligations  of  gratitude  do  such  favours  lay  upon 
you !  What  ardent  love,  what  sincere  thanksgiving,  what 
affectionate  duty  do  they  require  of  you !  These  are  the 
cords  of  love,  the  bonds  of  a  man,  wherewith  he  would 
draw  you  to  obedience. 


660  INGRATITUDE    TO    GOD    AN    HENIOUS 

Dare  you  now  make  the  inquiry,   What   returns  has 
this  divine  Benefactor  received  from  you  for  all  this  good- 
ness ?     Alas !  the  discovery  which  this  inquiry  will  make, 
may  convict,  shock,  confound,  and   mortify  us  all ;  for  we 
are  all,  in  a  prodigious  degree,  though  some  much  more 
than  others,  guilty  in  this  respect,  guilty  of  the  vilest  in- 
gratitude.    Alas !  are  there  not  many  of  you  that  do  not 
return   to  God    the   gratitude  of  a  dog   to  his  master? 
That  brute  animal  who  receives  but  crumbs  and  blows 
from  you,  will  welcome  you  home  with  a  thousand  fond 
and   obliging   motions.     The  very  dull  ox   you  fodder, 
knows  his  owner.     But  oh  !  the  more  than  brutal  ingrati- 
tude of  reasonable  creatures !     Some  of  you,  perhaps,  do 
not  so  much  as  acknowledge  the  agency  of  Providence  in 
these  enjoyments;   but,  affecting  a  very  unphilosophical 
infidelity  under  the  name  of  philosophy,  you  make  natural 
causes  the  authors  of  all  good  to  you,  without  the  agency 
of  the  first  Mover  of  all  the  springs  of  nature.     Others 
of  you,  who  may  be  orthodox  in  your  faith  as  to  this 
point,  yet  are  practical  infidels,  the  most  absurd  and  incon- 
sistent sort  in  the  world ;  that  is,  while  you  certainly  ac- 
knowledge, and  speculatively  believe  the  agency  of  Provi- 
dence in  these  things,  yet  you  live  as  if  there  were  no 
such  thing :  you  live  thoughtless  of  the  divine  Benefactor, 
and  disobedient  to  him  for  days  and  years  together.     The 
very  mercies  he  bestows  upon  you,  you  abuse  to  his  dis- 
honour, by  making  them  occasions  of  sin.     Do  not  your 
consciences  now  convict  you  of  that  monster  sin,  ingrati- 
tude, the  most  base,  unnatural,  and  yet  indulged  ingrati- 
tude?    How  do  you  resent  it,  if  one  whom  you  have 
deeply  obliged  should  prove  ungrateful,  and  use  you  ill  ? 
But  it  is  impossible  any  one  of  your  fellow-creatures  should 
be  guilty  of  such  enormous  ingratitude  towards  you  as  you 
are  guilty  of  towards  God ;  because  it  is  impossible  any 


BUT    GENERAL    INIQUITY.  661 

one  of  them  should  be  so  strongly  obliged  to  you  as  you 
are  to  him. 

Ye  children  of  God,  his  peculiar  favourites,  whose  hearts 
are  capable  of,  and  do  actually  feel  some  generous  sensa- 
tions of  gratitude,  what  do  you  think  of  your  conduct 
towards  such  a  Benefactor?  I  speak  particularly  to  you, 
because  you  are  most  likely  to  feel  what  I  say.  Have 
you  rendered  again  to  your  God  according  to  the  benefits 
done  you?  Oh!  are  you  not  mortified,  and  shocked  to 
reflect  upon  your  ingratitude,  your  sordid,  monstrous  in- 
gratitude? Do  you  not  abhor  yourselves  because  you 
were  capable  of  such  base  conduct?  From  you  I  expect 
such  a  generous  resentment.  But,  as  to  others,  they  are 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  dead  toward  God,  and  there- 
fore it  is  no  wonder  if  they  are  dead  to  all  penitential  in- 
genuous relentings  for  their  ingratitude. 

But  if  all  this  does  not  suffice  to  make  you  sensible  of 
your  enormous  guilt  in  this  particular,  let  me  lay  before 
you  an  inventory  of  still  richer  blessings.  At  the  head 
of  this  stands  Jesus  Christ,  the  unspeakable  gift  of  God. 
"God  so  loved  the  world,  (hear  it,  men  and  angels,  with 
grateful  wonder !)  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."  John  iii.  16.  "  God  sent  not  his  Son 
into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world,  but  that  the  world 
through  him,  might  be  saved."  John  iii.  17.  The  com- 
forts of  this  life  alone  would  be  a  very  inadequate  pro- 
vision for  creatures  who  are  to  exist  for  ever  in  another ; 
for  what  are  sixty  or  seventy  years  in  the  long  duration 
of  an  immortal  being !  But  in  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ  are  contained  the  most  ample  provisions,  for  your 
immortal  state.  Jesus  Christ  is  such  a  gift  as  draws  all 
other  gifts  after  it ;  for  so  the  apostle  argues,  "  He  that 
spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all, 


662  INGRATITUDE    TO    GOD    AN    HENIOUS 

how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things." 
Rom.  viii.  32.  And  the  purposes  for  which  he  gave  this 
gift,  render  it  the  more  astonishing.  He  gave  him  not 
only  to  rule  us  by  his  power,  but  to  purchase  us  with  the 
blood  of  his  heart.  He  gave  him  up  to  death,  even  the 
death  of  the  cross.  In  consequence  of  which  an  economy 
of  grace,  a  ministry  of  reconciliation,  is  set  up  in  our 
guilty  world.  Various  means  are  appointed,  and  various 
endeavours  are  used  to  save  you,  perishing  sinners.  For 
your  salvation  Jesus  now  intercedes  in  his  native  heaven, 
at  the  right  hand  of  God.  For  your  salvation  the  Holy 
Spirit  strives  with  you ;  conscience  admonishes  you ;  Pro- 
vidence draws  you  by  blessings,  and  drives  you  by  chas- 
tisements; angels  minister  to  you;  Bibles  are  put  into 
your  hands ;  ministers  persuade  you ;  friends  advise  you  ; 
and  thousands  of  saints  pray  for  you.  For  this  end, 
prayer,  preaching,  baptism,  and  the  Lord's  supper,  and  a 
great  variety  of  means  of  grace,  are  instituted.  For  this 
end,  heaven  is  prepared  and  furnished  with  many  man- 
sions ;  the  pearly  gates  open,  and  dart  their  splendours 
from  afar  to  attract  our  eyes ;  and  things  which  the  eye, 
which  has  seen  so  many  things,  had  never  seen ;  which 
the  ear,  that  has  had  still  more  extensive  intelligence,  had 
never  heard;  nor  the  heart  of  man,  which  is  even  un- 
bounded in  its  conceptions,  had  never  conceived,  are 
brought  to  light  by  the  gospel.  Nay,  for  this  purpose, 
your  salvation,  Sinai  thunders,  hell  roars  and  throws  its 
devouring  flames,  even  to  warn  a  stupid  world  not  to 
plunge  themselves  into  that  place  of  torment.  In  short, 
the  kind  designs  of  redeeming  love  run  through  the  whole 
economy  of  Providence  towards  our  world.  Heaven  and 
earth,  and,  in  the  sense  mentioned,  hell  itself,  are  trying  to 
save  you.  The  strongholds  of  sin  and  Satan,  in  which 
you  are  held  prisoners,  are  attacked  in  kindness  to  you 


BUT    GENERAL    INIQUITY.  663 

from  all  quarters.  What  beneficent  efforts,  what  heroic 
exploits  of  divine  goodness  are  these !  And,  blessed  be 
God,  these  efforts  are  not  in  vain. 

The  celestial  regions  are  fast  peopling,  though,  alas! 
not  so  fast  as  the  land  of  darkness,  with  numerous  colo- 
nies from  our  guilty  globe.  Even  in  these  dregs  of  time, 
when  iniquity  abounds,  and  the  love  of  many  waxes  cold, 
Jesus  is  gaining  many  hearts  and  saving  many  souls,  in 
the  various  apartments  of  his  church.  Though  you  and 
thousands  more  should  be  left,  and  continue  to  neglect,  yet 
such  excellencies  shall  not  want  admirers,  such  a  Physician 
shall  not  want  employ  in  our  dying  world.  No,  "he  shall 
see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied;  and 
the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  his  hand."  Isa. 
liii.  11.  And  I  doubt  not  but  there  are  some  among  you 
who  are  the  trophies  of  his  victorious  love — of  his  victo- 
rious love,  I  say ;  for  it  is  by  the  force  of  love  he  sweetly 
conquers. 

Now  you,  my  brethren,  are  the  subjects  of  this  admin- 
istration of  grace;  with  you,  these  means  are  used  for 
your  salvation ;  to  you  Jesus  is  offered  as  a  Saviour ;  and 
heaven  and  earth  are  striving  to  lodge  you  safe  in  his 
arms.  You  should  not  rejoice  in  the  wants  of  others ; 
but  certainly  it  may  make  you  the  more  sensible  of  your 
peculiar  obligations,  to  reflect  that  your  lot,  in  this  respect, 
is  singular.  It  is  but  a  very  small  part  of  mankind  that 
enjoy  these  great  advantages  for  a  happy  immortality. 
You  live  under  the  gospel,  whilst  the  most  of  the  nations 
of  the  earth  are  sunk  in  heathen  idolatry,  groaning  under 
Popish  tyranny,  seduced  by  Mahometan  imposture,  or 
hardened'  in  Jewish  infidelity. 

And  what  peculiar  obligations  of  gratitude  result  from 
such  peculiar,  distinguishing  favours?  Men  have  obliged 
you,  and  you  feel  the  obligation.  But  can  men,  can 


664        INGRATITUDE  TO  GOD  AN  HEINOUS 

angels,  can  the  whole  created  universe  bestow  such  gifts 
upon  you,  and  make  such  provisions  for  you,  as  those 
which  have  been  mentioned  ?  Gifts  of  infinite  value,  dear 
to  the  Giver;  provisions  for  an  everlasting  state;  an  ever- 
lasting state  of  as  complete  happiness  as  your  nature,  in 
its  highest  improvements,  is  capable  of.  These  are  favours 
worthy  of  God;  favours  that  bespeak  him  God.  And 
must  he  not,  then,  be  the  object  of  your  supreme  gratitude  I 
Can  any  thing  in  the  world  be  more  reasonable  ] 

And  yet — hear,  oh  earth,  with  horror;  be  astonished, 
O  ye  heavens,  at  this:  be  ye  horribly  afraid!  how  little 
gratitude  does  God  receive  from  our  world  after  all ! 
How  little  gratitude  from  you,  on  whom  these  favours 
are  showered  down  with  distinguished  profusion !  Do 
not  many  of  you  neglect  the  unspeakable  gift  of  God, 
Jesus  Christ,  as  well  as  that  salvation  which  he  bought 
with  his  blood?  Do  you  not  ungratefully  neglect  the 
means  of  your  salvation,  and  resist  the  generous  efforts 
that  are  used,  from  all  quarters,  to  save  you !  Oh ! 
the  mountainous  load  of  ingratitude  that  lies  upon  you! 
enough  to  sink  the  whole  world  into  the  depth  of  hell. 

But  I  must  now  address  such  of  you,  who  are  still  more 
deeply  obliged  to  your  divine  Benefactor,  and  whose  in- 
gratitude therefore  is  black  and  horrid;  I  mean  such  of 
you  who  have  not  only  shared  in  the  blessings  and  de- 
liverances of  life,  and  lived  under  the  advantages  of  a  dis- 
pensation of  grace,  but  have  experimentally  known  the 
love  of  God  to  your  souls  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  your- 
selves, and  are  actually  entitled  to  all  the  unknown  bless- 
ings prepared  for  those  that  love  him.  If  I  am  so  happy 
as  to  belong  to  your  number,  I  am  sure  I  am  so  unhappy 
as  to  share  deeply  with  you  in  the  guilt,  the  black  guilt 
of  ingratitude.  When  you  were  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins,  God  quickened  you,  out  of  his  great  love  wherewith 


BUT    GENERAL    INIQUITY.  665 

he  loved  you.  When  you  were  rushing  on  towards  de- 
struction, in  the  enchanting  paths  of  sin,  he  checked  your 
mad  career,  and  turned  your  faces  heavenward.  When 
you  were  sunk  into  sorrows,  borne  down  with  a  sense  of 
guilt,  and  trembling  every  moment  with  the  fears  of  imme- 
diate execution,  he  relieved  you,  led  you  to  Jesus,  and,  as 
it  were,  lodged  you  safe  in  his  arms.  When  dismal  glooms 
have  again  gathered  upon  your  minds,  and  overwhelming 
fears  rushed  again  upon  you  like  a  deluge,  he  has  relieved 
you  again  by  leading  you  to  the  same  almighty  and  ever- 
constant  Saviour.  When  your  graces  and  virtues  have 
withered  in  the  absence  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  he 
has  again  risen  upon  you  with  healing  in  his  wings,  and 
revived  your  languishing  souls.  He  has  shed  abroad  his 
love  in  your  hearts,  which  has  made  this  wretched  wilder- 
ness a  paradise  to  you.  He  has,  at  times,  afforded  you, 
as  you  humbly  hoped,  joy  and  peace  in  believing;  yea,  even 
caused  you  to  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable,  and  full  of 
glory.  He  has  met  you  in  your  retirements,  and  allowed 
you  to  converse  with  him  in  his  ordinances,  with  the  heart 
of  a  friend.  He  has,  as  it  were,  unlocked  his  peculiar 
treasures  to  enrich  you,  and  given  you  an  unshaken  title 
to  the  most  glorious  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.  He 
has  made  you  his  own,  his  own  in  a  peculiar  sense :  his 
people,  his  friends,  his  children.  You  are  indeed  his 
favourites:  you  were  even  so,  long  before  time  began. 
He  loved  you  with  an  everlasting  love,  therefore  with 
loving  kindness  has  he  drawn  you;  and  having  loved  you 
once,  he  will  love  you  always,  and  he  will  continue  in  his 
love  to  all  eternity.  Neither  life,  nor  death,  things  pre- 
sent, nor  things  to  come,  shall  ever  be  able  to  separate 
you  from  his  love.  Rom.  viii.  38,  39.  His  love  to  you  is 
an  unbounded  ocean,  that  spreads  over  eternity,  and  makes 
it,  as  it  were,  the  channel  of  the  ocean  of  your  happiness. 

VOL.  I.— 84 


666        INGRATITUDE  TO  GOD  AN  HEINOUS 

In  you  he  intends  to  show  to  all  worlds  what  glorious 
creatures  he  can  form  of  the  dust,  and  of  the  polluted 
fragments  of  degenerate  human  nature.  What  is  all  the 
profession  of  kings  to  their  favourites,  what  are  all  the 
benefactions  of  creatures,  nay,  what  are  all  the  bounties 
of  the  divine  hand  itself  within  the  compass  of  time,  when 
compared  to  these  astonishing,  unparalleled,  immortal,  in- 
finite, God-like  favours  ?  They  all  dwindle  into  obscurity, 
like  the  stars  of  night  in  the  blaze  of  noon. 

And  now  I  am  almost  afraid  to  turn  your  thoughts  to 
inquire,  what  return  you  have  made  for  all  these  favours, 
lest  you  should  not  be  able  to  bear  the  shock.  You  know 
you  have  a  thousand  times  repeated  Hezekiah's  offence. 
I  need  not  be  particular.  Your  conscience  accuses  you, 
and  points  out  the  particulars;  and  I  shall  only  join  the 
cry  of  conscience  against  you.  Oh !  the  ingratitude ! 
Oh!  the  base,  vile,  unnatural,  horrid,  unprecedented  in- 
gratitude! From  you  your  God  might  have  expected 
better  things;  from  you,  whom  he  has  so  peculiarly,  so  in- 
finitely obliged,  and  whose  hearts  he  has  made  capable  of 
generous  sensations.  But  oh!  the  shocking,  horrid  in- 
gratitude !  Let  our  hearts  burst  into  a  flood  of  sorrows 
o 

at  the  thought.  They  may  be  justly  too  full  to  allow  us 
to  speak  much  upon  it;  but,  oh!  they  can  never  be  too 
full  of  shame,  confusion,  and  tender  relentings  for  the 
crime.  Methinks  the  thought  must  break  the  hardest 
heart  among  us. 

Let  me  now  add  a  consideration,  that  gives  an  astonish- 
ing emphasis  to  all  that  has  been  said.  All  this  profusion 
of  mercy,  personal  and  relative,  temporal  and  spiritual,  is 
bestowed  upon  creatures  that  deserve  not  the  least  mercy; 
creatures  that  deserve  to  be  stripped  naked  of  every 
mercy;  nay,  that  deserve  to  be  made  miserable  in  time 
and  eternity;  creatures  that  deserve  not  to  breathe  this 


BUT    GENERAL    INIQUITY.  667 

vital  air,  to  tread  the  ground,  or  drink  the  stream  that  runs 
waste  through  the  wilderness,  much  less  to  enjoy  all  the 
blessings  which  the  infinite  merit  of  Jesus  could  purchase, 
or  the  infinite  goodness  of  God  can  bestow;  creatures  that 
are  so  far  from  deserving  to  be  delivered  from  the  calami- 
ties of  life,  that  they  deserve  to  have  them  all  heightened 
and  multiplied,  till  they  convey  them  to  the  more  intoler- 
able punishments  of  hell;  creatures  that  are  so  far  from 
making  adequate  returns,  that  they  are  perpetually  offend- 
ing their  God  to  his  face;  and  every  day  receiving  bless- 
ings from  him,  and  every  day  sinning  against  him.  Oh! 
astonishing!  most  astonishing!  This  wonder  is  pointed 
out  by  Jesus  Christ  himself,  who  best  knows  what  is  truly 
marvellous.  The  Mgst  High,  says  he,  "is  kind  to  the 
unthankful  and  to  the  evil."  Luke  vi.  35.  "  Your  heavenly 
Father  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good, 
and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust."  Matt.  v.  45. 

It  need  afford  you  no  surprise,  if  my  subject  so  over- 
whelms me,  as  to  disable  me  from  making  a  formal  appli- 
cation of  it.  I  leave  you  to  your  own  thoughts  upon  it. 
And  I  am  apt  to  think  they  will  constrain  you  to  cry  out 
in  a  consternation  with  me,  "Oh!  the  amazing,  horrid, 
base,  unprecedented  ingratitude  of  man !  and  oh !  the 
amazing,  free,  rich,  overflowing,  infinite,  unprecedented 
goodness  of  God !  Let  these  two  miracles  be  the  wonder 
of  the  whole  universe !" 

One  prayer,  and  I  have  done.  May  our  divine  Bene- 
factor, among  his  other  blessings,  bestow  upon  us  that  of  a 
thankful  heart,  and  enable  us  to  give  sincere,  fervent,  and 
perpetual  praise  to  his  name,  through  Jesus  Christ,  his  un- 
speakable gift!  Amen. 

END    OF    VOL.  I. 


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